Fic: Said and Done (6/25)

[icmezzo_archive]

Said and done

Synopsis: Graduate students Edward and Jasper feel the connection, but is it enough to overcome their differences? (E/J slash, vamp/human, comedy/romance, rated NC-17)

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Chapter 6: In situ


A/N: Thanks for reading... and thanks to TwilightMundi for betaing this and every chapter.

Disclaimer: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc., mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without express authorization.

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Chapter 6: In situ

I slammed my door before I heard any more. That's what Carlisle had been going on about? For crying out loud! Did everyone think I was twelve?

I stood fuming in my bedroom.

I'd show them. All of 'em. My family members thought I was all naive and innocent. Whatever. They could think what they wanted. I'd prove them wrong. They wanted to make fun of me for being cautious about Jasper? They thought they needed to teach me about the birds and the bees? Seriously? Do not even go there. I was a vampire. I'd been around. I mean, I hadn't been around but I'd lived long enough and had good ears. I knew what was up. Yeah. Whatever. I'd show them. Stupid Emmett with his stupid grin and know-it-all Rosalie acting all superior, and Alice thinking I needed help all the time and Esme telling everyone to take it easy on me like I was a child, and Carlisle going all parent on me? Seriously? Come on! Well, like I said, whatever. I'd show 'em.

And I knew just how to do it.

"Take that!" I thought as I hit "Send" on my phone.

"What was that, dear?" I heard Esme call from downstairs.

"Nothing!" I called back. Oops. I hadn't realized I'd said that last bit aloud.

I looked at my phone. The little arrow signal indicated it was sending my text message. To Jasper. Oh, shit... what had I just done? Had I just texted him to get back at my family? Oh no. I had. And just to prove a point. How stupid could I be? Crap. What was I going to do now? Oh, fu—

Suddenly my phone chirped. I looked at it.

Hey 2u2

Ha! Jasper texted back! Sweet! I quickly flew down the stairs and was met with the curious gazes of my family members when I dashed into the living room where they were gathered around a movie.

"You think I'm scared of him? Well, I showed you. I sent him..." I paused dramatically. "A text!" I displayed the screen proudly. "Check. It. Out. See? I texted him. And, watch this everyone." I paused again. "I'm about to do it again! And, no, Alice, I don't need any help!"

I quickly formulated a reply and typed it in as they stared at me. Then, with flourish, I hit "Send" another time.

I looked up at their stunned faces. "What? You don't believe me?" I asked them. "See? I don't need you all being all know-it-all, you know? I'm just fine. I don't need your help or your birds and bees or your superiority. I'm just fine, thanks. I'm all good. I'm so good that I'm great. I'm great!"

The words kept pouring out as I started to wonder why Jasper hadn't yet texted me back again. What was he waiting for? Didn't he like me? Did I say something wrong? Oh, shit, what should I do now? I frowned and looked at the phone. Come on, Jasper. My pride was at stake here! Why wasn't he replying? Oh no! What had I done?

I looked up, panicked. "Alice? Help me. Why isn't he texting me back?" I whined.

She raised an eyebrow. "I can't imagine why, Edward. Clearly, you're such a catch."

Just then, my phone chirped again. Oh, thank god. I turned back to the phone.

I'm good, u?

I quickly typed back, "I am quite well. Thank you for asking." But before I hit send, I decided to change the "for" to a "4." I wanted him to know how cool I was. Much better. I hit "Send" again.

I looked up at my family, grinning. I was texting with Jasper!

I was deciding to whom I'd show his latest text when Emmett spoke. "Dude, Edward, that's great that you can text. But seriously, you're blocking the TV. Can you please move? This is the best part."

I huffed and took a step to my right.

"Edward, dear, now you're blocking Rosalie," Esme said.

"Ugh, whatever. You're all just jealous!" I stomped back up stairs to my room to await Jasper's next message. I refused to let them bother me. Nothing could spoil my mood. I was texting with Jasper!

XXXXX

A few minutes later I calmly returned to the family room and sat beside Emmett. I tried to focus on the movie they were all watching. It was difficult. Not only had we watched Lord of the Rings: Return of the King dozens of times, but I was admittedly a bit out of sorts from my conversation with Jasper. However, I tried to keep myself in check. I didn't want my family members to catch on to my anxiety. It wouldn't help me maintain the mature, collected persona I was trying to convey. I didn't want to give them any further ammunition. So I kept my mouth shut and my eyes on the screen as best as I was able.

So I was surprised when Alice paused the movie less than three minutes later and turned to me.

"Okay, spill. You're fidgeting more than a human. So let's hear it," she said. Esme nodded in agreement.

"Well, it's no big deal really." I tried to downplay the conversation. "We just texted for a few minutes, and..." I paused for effect, as well as to calm myself so that my voice would sound confident and steady when I said my next words. "And we're going to the movies tomorrow."

Alice squealed at a pitch I'm relatively certain was not within the range of human hearing before reaching over and giving me a hug.

"It's really no big deal," I told her, although for some reason I was having trouble suppressing a grin.

"We'll have to go shopping in the morning. You need something new to wear. We can take a quick trip to Port Angeles, I suppose. We don't really have time to go farther. Too bad. You need to look fantastic for your date!" Alice said excitedly.

I quickly stopped her. "No, Alice. First of all, this isn't a date. And second, my current clothing is fine."

She looked at me horrified, so I quickly tried to make amends. "You can help me pick out a shirt if you want," I offered.

Apparently this was not an acceptable alternative, because she continued to look dismayed. "We'll come back to the clothing issue. Don't think that conversation's over!" she threatened. "But why are you so certain it's not a date?"

"Because he said so," I answered confidently.

"What were his exact words?" her eyes narrowed as she demanded to know.

"Well, he asked what I was doing and I said I was about to watch a movie with you and he said that maybe he and I could watch a movie sometime. And I said okay, and he said how about tomorrow and I said okay."

"I don't exactly understand why you think that it isn't a date, Edward," Alice said.

"Well, I guess you had to be there. Trust me. I could tell. It's not a date." I explained.

"Exactly how much additional context could there be? It was a conversation entirely via text messages, right? I didn't hear you talking to him on the phone at any point," Alice pointed out.

I thought for a moment. Could she be right? Had I agreed to go on a date? I didn't want a date. I just wanted to see Jasper. What was so hard to understand about that? Wait, did Jasper think it was a date?

"$20 says he tries to hold your hand." Emmett chimed in, interrupting my thoughts.

"Don't break it when you do," Rosalie added.

I ignored them and headed back to my room. I needed to think about what Alice said. After all, what was a date anyway? What was the difference between Jasper and me going to the movies and a date? Would I need to act or dress differently? Did Jasper think it was a date? Did Jasper think I thought it was a date? Did he think I thought he thought it was a date? Would we need to discuss whether it was? What if it was? And why did my family members seem to think it was okay if it was?

There was just so much to consider. And I had less than 24 hours to do so before I was supposed to meet Jasper the next evening.

XXXXX

We agreed to meet at the theater at 7 p.m.

Unfortunately, it was only 3 p.m. and I was already showered, dressed, and ready to go.

Luckily, vampires have the ability to stand completely still for very lengthy periods of time. So as not to wrinkle my Alice-approved clothing or cause my hair to revert further to its natural disarray, I put this natural talent to good use from 3:00–5:17 p.m., at which point I decided it was time to leave for the theater. I didn't want to be late.

Even at human speeds the distance between my house and the movie theater took no more than 53 minutes. This meant that I arrived even more quickly, and thus was parked and standing outside the theater by 5:57 p.m.

So I would have to wait for an hour. No big deal. Time was one thing of which I had plenty.

I grabbed my iPhone and started researching the movies playing at the theater. And then I looked at reviews—both critic and otherwise, of course. I viewed trailers and examined the directors' past works and then those of the actors and actresses staring in the films. There was nothing worse than bad acting. Then I listened to samples of the music score and viewed box office sales. And then, after I assigned each of these factors various weights, I multiplied them by the number of minutes in the movie plus points for international accolades and then divided that by the film's rating plus the number of errors in the film's plot.

Based on these calculations I determined that we should see… The Last Song.

Wait. That couldn't be correct. I reviewed my math and quickly discovered I had forgotten to add the negative sign to the acting score for that one. My goodness, mathematical mistakes! I was more nervous than I thought about this whole evening. I shook my head, took a breath to calm myself down and began to redo the calculations in my head. According to my formula, Jasper and I should see... Date Night.

Well, wouldn't Alice just love that.

In the end I just decided to just let Jasper choose. Whatever he wanted was fine with me—even if I had to listen to Miley for two solid hours. I shuddered at the thought.

I glanced at my watch. 6:04 p.m. Now what?

I looked around and watched people entering and exiting the theater. I didn't want to make any silly mistakes this evening, so I observed them carefully.

I then decided to rehearse what I would say to Jasper when he arrived.

Hello, I said under my breath.
Nope, too formal. I decided to try another.

Hi!
Hmm… That was okay, I suppose, but I knew I could do better.

Howdy, pardner.
Maybe, but he was from Texas. He'd probably realize my accent was phony.

Yo, wassup?
Yeah, right. I'd never pull that off.

Hey.
There, that was pretty good—

"Hi to you too," some teenager giggled, interrupting my thoughts as she walked past me.

I glanced up in time to see the girl wink at me and giggle again before ducking into the theater with equally-underclothed girlfriends. I rolled my eyes.

I then spent a few minutes debating whether to offer to purchase popcorn for Jasper once we were inside. I wondered if it would bring more or less attention to the fact that I would not be partaking myself. I decided I'd have to play that one by ear depending on what Jasper smelled like. If his blood sugar seemed low, I'd offer. But then, if it seemed he'd eaten recently, it was probably best not to even bring it up.

I checked my watch again. 6:13 p.m. Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have arrived quite so early.

But just when I was debating whether or not to just go sit in the car and listen to some music, I heard a vehicle that sounded familiar. I listened harder. Yes, it was still quite far off, but the sound shot straight through me. Jasper!

I breathed in deeply, searching for his scent in the air. He was still too far away, but he wouldn't be for long. And what was he doing here so early anyway? There was a full 45 minutes to go before we were supposed to meet!

A minute later I could both hear and smell him as his vehicle approached the theater. And at 6:17 p.m. I watched him pull his car into the lot and park a few rows away from my Volvo.

After a few moments, he emerged from his car. Suddenly, the full force of his heady scent invaded my nostrils. Sweet mother of all things holy! I quickly recalled every reason why it was unwise for me to sit in close proximity to him in the darkness for the next few hours. I pinched my nose to block the scent. This was so wrong, this risk. I couldn't do this to him. A movie! I barked out a laugh. It seemed so innocent until I decided to indulge in a little snack of my own during the film. Even if he didn't know it, he shouldn't be here with me. It was wrong. I had to leave. Immediately.

I started walking as quickly as I dared around the corner of the theater in the opposite direction of Jasper. I'd leave my car and come back for it later, I decided. If I could just get out of the parking lot lights and around the side of the building, I'd be in the clear.

I had no such luck. He must have recognized my retreating form.

"Edward?" I heard him ask from across the parking lot, confusion evident in his voice.

I didn't stop. It was better this way.

"Edward?" Again, I heard Jasper call to me. I also heard his footsteps pick up their pace. He was running to catch up to me.

I moved faster.

He came to a stop a few steps later. He must have realized he couldn't outrun—

"Edward. Please." He spoke the words quietly this time. "Please."

The hurt evident in his voice stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Please," he said again.

I turned to look at him.

His eyes looked so disappointed. Oh, I hadn't meant to hurt him. I never wanted to hurt Jasper.

Oh, Jasper. I never meant to hurt you. I was trying to protect you. Please don't be sad. I willed him to understand.

He took a step towards me, cautiously. Then another. We were away from the crowds and out of the bright parking lot lights. I looked at the ground, debating whether to flee.

"Edward, please. Look at me," he said as he moved steadily closer.

I focused on the sound of his voice, letting it ground me to the pavement so I didn't bolt in the opposite direction. Keep talking, Jasper.

"Would you rather not see a movie?" he asked gently as he approached. "We can go somewhere else. I don't mind."

A slightly whiny, strangled sound I would later recall as horribly embarrassing emerged from my throat.

"Okay, let's do that then," he said, as though I hadn't just been completely incomprehensible. He was now standing mere feet from me.

He reached out his hand in my direction. The moonlight lit up the side of his face and neck, as well as his exposed and pulsing wrist.

And in that moment, I gave myself over to my long-suppressed instinct, ignoring his outstretched arm, and opting instead to launch myself at him. I saw his eyes widen in surprise as I threw myself into his arms and screwed my eyes shut and buried my face in his shoulder. After a half-second I felt him relax as he wrapped his arms around me in a hug. I didn't think, I just felt. I felt his heart beat between us, his arms pulling me close, and luxuriated in his breath washing over me, calming me.

After a minute, I felt him take a deep breath. "Are you ready to go see a movie now?" he asked quietly, his mouth brushing the side of my head.

I nodded into his shoulder.

"Okay, then. Let's go," he suggested, loosening his arms from me.

I stepped back, looked up at him, and nodded. "Okay."

"Okay," he said, smiling happily. And suddenly, he winked at me before grabbing my arm and leading me to the front of the movie theater to purchase our tickets.

XXXXX

Once seated inside the theater, the evening went decidedly more smoothly. In other words, at no point did I have an overwhelming urge to sprint from the theater in the direction of the most remote sections of Canada. And for the most part Jasper seemed to enjoy watching the movie, and I enjoyed watching him enjoy it. I also liked it when he rested his warm arm lightly against mine, and I smiled to myself when he elbowed me when he thought something was particularly funny. And it was nice when he just turned and grinned at me for seemingly no reason whatsoever.

He was so funny to be with and I liked that he was happy. Was that so wrong? No, I decided, as long as I behaved myself, it was not. There was nothing wrong with spending time with Jasper. The only thing wrong was that I was a vampire, but that could hardly be helped. I simply had to squash that part of my being to enjoy his company. It was well worth it, I decided.

Was it also possible that I'd spent the past 90 or so years in classrooms sitting in close proximity to humans in order to prepare for this very moment? It seemed unlikely that my existence was so predestined, yet sitting through high school and college so many times may not have been as pointless as I'd once thought, if it made my current friendship with Jasper a possibility.

Whether I had 14 repetitions of high school to thank for it or not, really the only tricky moment during the movie occurred approximately 2/3 of the way through when Jasper took off his jacket and offered it to me.

"Here," he had whispered. "You're freezing."

I thought about protesting. After all, his jacket was hardly going to fix that problem. But I quickly realized that I'd be happy to wear his jacket for awhile. It seemed a fair trade since he still had my favorite sweater, I reasoned. So I whispered a thank you, donned the extra layer, and found myself smiling through the remainder of the movie.

When it was over, I returned his jacket to him, and we walked side-by-side out to the parking lot.

My mind started racing as we hit the theater exit. Now what? Should I say goodbye? Or should I suggest something further for the evening? I didn't necessarily want to say goodbye just yet, and it wasn't like I needed to get to bed, but I wasn't sure how early Jasper typically went to sleep. But what could I suggest that he would enjoy?

I felt myself tense up as my brain shifted into overdrive as we approached our cars, trying to figure out what to do, or say, next. I wished I had researched some post-movie possibilities prior to the film. I started mentally sifting through lists of local business names for some ideas. However, I had only gotten through the letter F when Jasper spoke.

"So it's still pretty early," he commented.

"Mmmhmm," I replied as I started moving more quickly through the alphabet in search of an activity since it appeared Jasper wasn't quite ready to go home yet either.

"Yep. Definitely still early," he said. I nodded in response.

"Lots of time left in the evening," he commented again.

"Yes," I agreed. Almost done, just W–Z to finish...

"Well, I guess I had better be going," Jasper said suddenly.

I looked up. "Wait. Why?" I asked, disappointed.

"Well, because by the time you ask me if I want to hang out anymore tonight, it is going to be very late," Jasper said pointedly.

"Oh." I didn't have an excuse. I guess I wasn't fast enough. I really should have planned ahead better. Stupid, Edward, I chided myself.

"See, the thing is, Edward, I want to spend time with you, but I haven't the slightest idea most of the time if you would like that. You're sort of, no, actually, you're very hot and cold," he explained. "It's hard to make sense of sometimes."

I frowned and looked at the ground. I didn't mean to confuse him. But this was all so new to me. I wished I could just behave normally, but I wasn't sure how. I thought about how to justify my apparently erratic behavior.

"Argh! I wish sometimes you would just say what you're thinking!" he exclaimed.

I looked up. "You want to know what I'm thinking?" I asked.

"Yes, for once. Please!" he said with a sharp laugh.

"Okay, well, I'm thinking that I'm sorry I didn't think ahead far enough to plan something for us to do after the movie that you might enjoy. And I am thinking that I don't want you to think that I'm hot and cold. And also you should know that I pretty much want to hang out with you whenever possible, but that doesn't mean doing so is completely comfortable for me either..." I trailed off.

"Well, that's a good to know at least. After all, you practically ran from me when I arrived earlier. How was I supposed to know that meant you like spending time with me?" he smiled.

"I, uh, well... I don't know," I admitted.

"It's okay. We'll figure this out," he said. "Just please keep talking to me, okay?"

I nodded. "As much as I can," I agreed. After all, some things weren't mine to say. But I could try.

"Great, and for the record, I really don't care very much what we do, as long as I get to see you in the process." He blushed and continued, "And, uh, don't think that I didn't appreciate your hug earlier." He paused. "If I get a hug out of it, you can freak out anytime," he grinned.

I started to protest but he clamped his hand over my mouth and shook his head. Of course, it felt light as a feather to me, but I understood his intent. "Trust me, that is one memory I will treasure for a long, long time," he laughed. "Don't ruin it for me."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him though I could admit I must have been absolutely ridiculous looking.

After a moment he removed his hand.

"You know, for someone who just insisted I start talking, you were pretty quick to shut me up just then," I pointed out.

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "Okay, okay, enough out of you," he said sternly. "Now, go get in your car and follow me. We're going to this little diner a mile or so from here. And even if you won't eat in front of me, which I suspect will be the case, I plan on having at least once slice of their fantastic blueberry pie in front of you. So get moving!"

He gave me a mock shove in the direction of my car, and quickly got into his. I shook my head. He was too much. And also, just right.