If We Ever Meet Again

" Who are you?" I heard Dad snarled at the visitor. Oh, boy, I thought, getting up from my chair to see and stop them from fighting or doing anything that could turn ugly.

" Dad, that's probably Jasper," I said, rolling my eyes at him and leaned against the stairs.

" No, it isn't him. This is a guy who is trying to trick us. A con-man! Go away!" he snapped at the visitor. I sighed and decided to intervene. As soon as I got a look at the visitor, my jaw dropped.

" Jasper?" I gasped. But I knew it couldn't be Jasper. This guy looked so different from him. He was nearly as tall as Jasper but his hair was a lighter shade of blond, where as Jasper has darker shade of blond. But the most important thing I knew about this guy, that told me he wasn't Jasper, was his eyes. His eyes were dark red, almost burgundy. I knew that Dad wouldn't be able to tell it apart from black since it was dark enough it almost fooled me.

" No, I am not Jasper. My name is-" the guy started, looking utterly confused and perplexed.

" Fred?" a familiar voice said, coming from behind him. I was really relieved when I heard him because I knew that should Dad burst into one of his rages and angers this guy, we'd probably be dead.

The guy named Fred turned and Dad and I followed suit. We saw Jasper climbing out of his car, looking at Fred with a pleasantly bewildered look. Fred began to growl and snarl at Jasper. Jasper approached the guy carefully, never taking his eyes off of him.

" Easy now, Fred. They don't know," he said gently. I saw Fred adjust his position into a much relaxed one, though never taking his eyes off of Jasper.

" Who is this guy?" Dad bursted out. " What's he doin' on my doorstep? Is he one of your family?" he asked, probably guessing it by the similarity between Jasper and Fred.

" I'm very sorry, Mr. Jensen. This is my...uh, long-lost cousin. I just found out that he lived with Edward and Bella in Atlanta," Jasper replied coolly, his eyes now on Dad. " I'm really sorry if he has disturbed you. He's a bit confused right now."

" If he lives with that brother of yours, how come he's here?"

" I'm looking for the Cullens' house. Edward told me once that his family lives here. I was at my college when Edward and Bella decided to visit them. I didn't know because they didn't tell me," Fred explained. " I'm really sorry, sir. I didn't wish to intrude."

" Very well, then," Dad said, softening a bit. I guess he could see that Fred really was confused and lost like Jasper had said. Then, he turned his glare on Jasper. " What are you doing here?"

" Fred, go and wait in the car. Don't touch anything, by the way," he muttered to Fred. Fred gladly obeyed his orders and scuttled off to stay out of the fight. To Dad, he said, " I was just thinking of taking Anna out..uh, I mean, not on a date. But more like a..walk?"

" A walk?" Dad choked. " You have got to be the worst boyfriend ever!" Dad bursted out. " Even I, when I was courting her mother, did better!"

Okay, this is getting embarassing. I pushed Dad into the house. " So, you don't mind?" He just guffawed like mad. " Okay, so, I'm going out with Jasper and his cousin. Can you take care of yourself?" He was still chuckling like mad. I'm going to take that as a yes. " See you later, Dad." And I shut the door. But I still could hear him laughing like mad.

" Your father is the weirdest person I've ever met. One moment he's preparing to smack me down. Next moment, he's laughing at me," Jasper commented, taking my hand as we walked down the street towards his car, where Fred was waiting in the front passenger seat, looking at us curiously.

" Fred, this is Anna. Anna, this is Fred."

" Hi," he said shyly. I smiled back. Jasper was holding the back door open for me. I climbed inside and he shut it. Next thing, he was already in the driver's seat.

We sat in silence for a while. Fred looking out of the windows curiously, observing everything. Jasper drove on in silence, probably thinking about something. The silence made me edgy and before I could stop myself, I began talking.

" Uh..so, are you two really cousins? I mean, is Fred really your long-lost, distant cousin?" I asked Jasper. The both of them laughed.

" Anna, I was born in the 1880s. Every family I had had back then is now in their graves," he chuckled. " No, Fred isn't my long-lost cousin. It's just to save him from getting beaten up by your father. And also to save my neck." They laughed again.

" Are you one of the Cullens?" he asked Jasper. Jasper nodded. " Are you?" he suddenly asked me.

" Am I what?" I asked back, feeling confused.

" One of the Cullens?"

" No..," I replied sheepishly.

" You're a human," Fred said suddenly. My jaw dropped. " I can tell the difference from your scent and ours." He sniffed again. " How can you stand it?" he asked Jasper. " Aren't you thirsty? I mean, there's practically a human in your car and you can easily-"

" That's enough, Fred," Jasper cut in, looking alarmed. " She doesn't need to know the details."

" Wait, does she know about us?" Jasper nodded. Fred fell silent for a moment. " I never did managed to cope with Edward and Bella's lifestyle," he admitted to Jasper. " I cheated several times."

" Well, you've got to manage your thirst and self-control from now on if you want to be one of our coven," Jasper said grimly. " Take this as your first task."

I'm getting lost here. What are they talking about? " What is this thing about self-control and stuff?" I asked them.

" Fred here doesn't hunt the way my family do, Anna," Jasper explained.

" So, do you mean he hunts-" I stopped, trying not to think.

" Humans?" Fred finished the sentence for me. " Yeah, I do. Well, used to. Then, I ran into Edward and Bella in Vancouver before they decided to adopt me and we moved to Atlanta after that," Fred explained. " They're sort of like my parents."

" And Nessie's your sister," I muttered. He laughed.

" I can never stand that little monster. She frightened the daylights out of me when I first met them," he laughed again. " I never knew they could exist."

" They can," Jasper chuckled. " And she frightened Anna, too."
" She didn't. She's just too adorable to be frightening me," I said, giggling.

There was a momentary silence after that. I saw Jasper adjust his position. Fred just sat still, as still as a stone. I giggled silently, thinking how simply alike they are. Then again, of course they're alike.

Suddenly, I saw Jasper's lips moving, as though he was saying something silently under his breath. And I saw Fred sit up straighter in his seat, his body tense. I strained my ears to hear what they were talking about.

"-but you know I had to! It would be much, much worse if I didn't!" Fred muttered.

" Yeah, I know. But couldn't you down it with something that we take? Carlisle won't be too pleased, you know. Nor will Edward," Jasper muttered back.

" He won't know," Fred snorted. Jasper chuckled too.

" He can read minds, don't you know that?"

" And I'll just repulse him."

Okay, time to chime in. I coughed a fake cough, the kind Dolores Umbridge loves to do in the fifth Harry Potter book. " Uh, you do know I'm eavesdropping on your mental conversation, right?"

" You're not supposed to listen, you know. That's why we're whispering," Jasper nagged.

" Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes. " Where are we going anyway?"

" Well, we've got to deposit him first at my house. Edward is soo gonna flip," he chuckled. Fred scowled.