Just After Sunset

The Cullens

Jasper Hale had to get out of school as soon as possible. He'd heard gossip of a new girl in town and didn't plan on getting involved with her, but as soon as she walked into his first period physics class, Jasper knew he was in deep trouble.

She'd entered the classroom like a scared animal, taking small steps towards the teacher while her left hand was securely wrapped around the strap of her bag. He noticed the scar in her neck, a patch of raised skin that ran towards her collarbone and immediately, his curiosity spiked. It reminded him of his own scars and he instantly wondered how she got hers.

Sadness, fear and embarrassment overcame him instantly and he knew the emotions were coming from the new girl. Why she was embarassed he didn't know, but the lingering sadness is what really bothered him. He considered taking it away, but decided he shouldn't. He didn't want her to feel comfortable around him, he had to keep her as far away from him as possible.

When she walked towards his desk, he could smell her. First, a small breeze caused the scent of her perfume to enter his flaring nostrils. Lilies and cherry blossom flooded his nose, clouding his brain and tickling his senses.

Then, as she sat down, the smell of her body overtook him and finally, there was her blood.

Warm, thick and sweet like honey, but as addictive as cocaine. He could hear her heartbeat as she sat next to him and the rapid rising and falling of her chest made him nearly lose his control.

In his mind, he thought of a thousand ways to kill her. He could easily cause a distraction, use his southern charm to lure her out of the classroom before the end of the period. He could flash her a smile, hover over her table and seduce her into coming with him to the second floor bathroom, where he would easily push her into one of the stalls and suck her dry right on the spot.

Or, he could use force. It'd take him less than a minute to kill every single person in the room, leaving her for last so he could really savour the taste of her. Nobody would be able to stop him and he could use his power to make sure they wouldn't run. Jasper had it all figured out.

Except he didn't want to do it. The sound of her heart beating awakened a bloodlust in him he had never felt before, not even on his first day after being through the transformation, but it was also the sweetest sound he'd ever heard.

He had to tightly grip onto the edges of his table, crumbling the material beneath his hands without any effort. Lucky for him, nobody seemed to notice as he destroyed school property. He tried to focus his thoughts on what his teacher had to say, but there was no way his mind could shift from her to the information.

The way she seemed so invested in what the teacher had to say, the way she kept tucking strands of long, pale blond hair behind her ear and even how she shifted in her seat; he needed more of it. He needed to talk to her, needed to hear her voice say his name, hear her beg for her life while he ripped her open and drank her blood.

And that was exactly the reason why he had to get out.

"I'm going to Alaska." Jasper said, his voice strained.

He'd run to his house right after class, ditching his second, third and fourth period of the day without care. He couldn't be in that building another minute, or it'd turn into a bloodbath.

Esme had her hands on her hips, but didn't say anything. She knew her son better than anyone and she could tell he was really struggling.

"You'll be fine, Jas!" Alice said. The small, pixie-like girl smiled sweetly at her best friend, even though he didn't look happy.

"I came this close to killing her, Alice. This close," Jasper squeezed his fingers together, "It can never happen again."

"It won't," She tried to lovingly reassure him, "I don't see it happening."

"Yeah, well," Jasper started as he turned his back to them, "Your visions have been wrong before."

-

By the time lunch rolled around, Emily was greeted by a small group of people, including Mike, Eric and Jessica, who all sat at their signature table in the lunchroom.

She placed her tray of food down on the table and took a seat in one of the plastic chairs, which squeaked when she did. Emily looked around the cafeteria, immediately recognizing some of the faces from her earlier classes. Students left and right sat behind similar round tables, laughing and joking with their friends.

"Mike, you met my home girl Emily?" Eric asked as he took a seat next to her. Mike raised his eyebrows and grinned.

"Your homegirl?" He asked, shaking his head.

Out of nowhere, a boy with dark skin appeared, pressing his lips to Emily's cheek in a swift motion. He left behind a wet spot on her face, which she quickly wiped away.

"My homegirl!" He said before pulling Mike's chair out from under him and running off. Mike quickly followed, leaving only the girls and Eric, who didn't bother to follow the teenage boys out into the courtyard.

Emily blushed and touched her cheek, looking down at her tray in embarassment. Jessica placed her hand on top of hers and leaned over with an awkward smile.

"Like first grade all over again," she mused, "You're the shiny new toy."

Suddenly, a flashbulb blinded Emily, pulling her from her food in annoyance. She looked at the photographer and was surprised to see it was Angela, who flashed her an apologetic smile. Instantly, her bad mood disappated.

"Sorry," She said, "Need a candid for the feature."

"The feature's dead, Angela. Don't bring it up again!" Eric said, standing up. He grabbed his tray of food and walked away, leaving the table with just the girls behind.

"Sorry," Angela quickly said, "I didn't know."

"It's okay," Emily replied, "Just make sure to get rid of that picture. Destory the evidence."

Angela laughed, a small, insecure chuckle and nodded. "I guess we'll just do another editorial on teen drinking."

"Well, there's always eating disorders or speedo padding on the swim team," Emily offered apologetically, "I'll help if you need me. My old school had tons of scandals."

"Wait," Angela said, "That's actually a good one!"

She and Jessica giggled, obviously both thinking of the same people. Emily however, didn't notice their laughter or hear their speculations.

The cafeteria doors opened. Four of the most astounding people Emily had ever seen walked inside, all of them in pairs. Two boys, one tall and fit with bronze coloured hair and one big and beefy and two girls, one with long blonde hair and one who looked like an elf.

All of them shared the same skin colour, pale like marble and smooth like it, too. Their eyes were all similiar shades of gold, with dark coloured circles underneath. Their faces seemed to be chiseled out of stone, perfectly symetrical and without flaws. Not to mention their bodies, all in great shape and perfect proportion.

All in all, they were devastatingly beautiful.

They moved through the room with effortless grace, although the pixie-like girl took the cake. She almost seemed to dance through the room, even though her feet hardly left the ground. Then, they took a seat at the table next to the window and started talking amongst themselves, no trays of food or lunch bags in sight. Apparently, they weren't hungry.

Emily leaned over towards Jessica and Angela and whispered, "Who are they?"

Angela took one glance over at their table and rolled her eyes.

"That's the Cullens. Doctor and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids. They all moved down here from Alaska two years ago."

"They kind of keep to themselves," Angela added.

"Because they're all together! Like, together together. The blonde haired chick is Rosalie and she's with Emmett, the beefy guy. They're a thing, although I'm not even sure if that's legal," She said, "And then there's Edward, the gorgeous one, well they're all gorgeous but he's the best looking in my opinion. He doesn't date."

Emily raised an eyebrow, but nodded for Jessica to continue on.

"The dark-haired girl, Alice? She used to be with Jasper, but blonde one who looks like he's in pain all the time. They split up about two months ago, or so I heard. Not my idea of a fun summer vacation."

"But they're not actually related." Angela said, getting back to the topic of them dating each other.

"But they live together, it's weird! Dr. Cullen's like this foster dad slash matchmaker." She said.

"Maybe he'll adopt me." Angela said sweetly before taking a bite off her apple.

"Wait, doctor? My dad works at the hospital..." Emily trailed off, counting heads at the Cullen table.

A sudden realization hit Emily as Jessica's words went through her head. The blonde one who looks like he's in pain all the time.

"I think he's in my physics class," She said slowly, "The blonde boy. I sat next to him and he didn't say a word the entire time."

"Who, Jasper? He's really weird. I don't think he's ever said anything to anyone, not even during projects." Jessica said, annoyance dripping from her voice.

"That's odd," Angela said, "I don't see him at their table."

"Maybe he got ill?" Emily asked, "He sort of ran out of the classroom before anyone else got out."

"I don't think any of them have gotten sick before," Jess mused, "Maybe you scared him off."

Once again, Emily blushed. She looked down at her tray and picked up her fork, beginning to mix the rice and curry on the plate.

"Don't worry about it," Angela assured her, "He's weird anyway."

Edward, seated between Alice and Emmett, suddenly looked over. His eyes, darker than the others, pierced Emily's and they almost seemed to look into her soul. She awkwardly shifted in her seat and quickly looked away. A long shiver ran down her spine, but she shook it off.

It was almost as if Edward had overheard their conversation. Emily peeked at him through her eyelashes, fear coursing through her veins. She didn't like the way he looked at her, stared at her at this point, without even trying to hide his gaze. Emily coughed and pushed him out of her thoughts. It's that moment she promised herself not to get involved with the Cullens.