Twilight Imagines

25. Intriguing (Jasper Hale)

(Published December 14, 2023)

   To think that I was a dreamer and a nerd would be a spot on observation.  I loved comics, movies, and pretty much anything that screamed fantasy, barring anime.  One thing I was not was crazy.  I didn't confuse fiction with real life and I certainly didn't pretend that people in my classes had actual superpowers...  That is, until the Cullens showed up. 
   Now that they went to my school, my Spidey senses tingled, for lack of a better description.  Each time I was in the same room as one of them, I could practically sense that something was off.  Of course, everyone else knew they were odd, too.  But it was different for me.  They weren't just odd; they were 'super' odd.  They didn't eat or drink, they socially distanced themselves, and they vanished whenever the weather was nice out.  I knew they weren't hiking.  They were hiding. 
   The worst part was that they knew I knew.  Whenever I sat too near to them or passed them in the halls, they would watch me.  Which, for a nerd who's one goal in school was to be invisible to my fellow classmates, was nerve wracking.  They either needed to approach me and say what was on their minds, or erase my memory of their secret.  If they could even do that...  Which they probably couldn't. 
   I groaned quietly and dropped my head onto the math book in front of me.  It was lunch time and I had somehow managed to get a seat facing the Cullens' table, which had not been my intention.  But, seeing that it was the only open seat at the time, I hadn't had much of a choice.  So here I was, trying not to watch them watch me.  And here I thought I couldn't get any weirder. 
   Lifting my head, I saw Edward Cullen snickering at something.  Since usually he was a stone faced popular boy, this couldn't be a good sign.  He was the one I pegged as the mind reader.  He just had that creepy know-it-all air about him.  Alice was sitting next to him.  She was zoning out at the moment, which just confirmed my suspicions that she could see the future.  It'd be a good fit for her, right?  Then there was Rosalie, the drop dead gorgeous girl in the group.  She didn't even need a superpower; she'd just charm their nemesis' henchmen with her smile.  Emmett had a muscled arm slung around her shoulders, proving that he had the strong member of the group.  Then, sitting just a tad further from the others, sat Jasper.  The quiet, anti-social one who was either an empath or a manipulator.  I wasn't quite sure which one yet.  And, naturally, he was the one who set my pulse into high gear.  I always ended up crushing on the mysterious characters.  If you could call it a crush.  It probably didn't count if I was suspicious of him and avoided him, right?  
   With a sigh, I dropped my gaze back to my math book.  Even while studying math, I could end up writing superhero stories for my classmates.  I shook the fantasy from my mind, pushed aside any thoughts of the Cullens, and focused on the Algebra in front of me. 
   Suddenly, someone took the recently emptied chair to my left.  I slowly lifted my gaze to find a golden pair of eyes staring back at me.  Jasper Cullen was seated next to me.  The anti-social, doesn't have friends, anti-social, doesn't talk in class, very anti-social Cullen was sent to talk to me.  My heart jolted into high gear, but whether it was from him being so near or the fact that I feared for my memories, I wasn't exactly sure. 
   "Hi," He greeted quietly. 
   "Hi."
   All I could manage was a whisper in reply.  I wondered what the gold eyes meant.  Was he a lab experiment?  Or was that just a side effect of whatever alien substance turned him into what he was? 
   "I'm Jasper Hale."
   He had a hint of a Southern accent to his voice, meaning he wasn't from around here.  I wondered where his 'siblings' were from.  Instead of asking, I gave him a cautious smile and a tiny nod.
   "I'm Dani."
   He gave me a small smile in return. 
   "You don't have to be nervous."
   "I think it's warranted."
   He quirked an eyebrow, prompting me to continue. 
   "Even you've been here long enough to know that people don't talk to me unless we're doing a project together.  I aim to get through the day unnoticed.  And the fact that you're new and noticed me is even queerer, especially with all the popular kids in this school that are far more enjoyable to hang out with.  That gives me reason to be concerned." I explained while keeping my gaze on my math book. 
   "It's hard not to notice someone staring at you," He commented. 
   "Everyone stares at you guys."
   He couldn't argue with that.  Still, he didn't leave, and my cheeks began to burn.  Why did it have to be him talking to me?  As if my heart wasn't betrayal enough, now my blush was in on the embarrassment scheme.  
   Suddenly, a wave of calmness flooded me.  My heart rate slowed, my cheeks cooled, and my knee that had been bouncing under the table stopped.  He was an empath.  This kicked up a whole new emotion in me, though.  I jumped out of my chair, turning my frightened gaze to his now surprised one. 
   "Don't.  Don't you mess with me," I whispered angrily, trying not to draw attention from the normal human classmates who were already watching us with curious gazes.  Cullens didn't socialize often, so we had already drawn unwanted attention.  I just didn't want to draw any more.  
   Jasper seemed speechless at my reaction.  He stared at me, his eyes searching for something in my features.  I wasn't going to give him another chance to play with my feelings, though.  I grabbed my bag off of the back of my chair, collected my math book, and made a beeline for the door. 
   For the rest of the day, I avoided looking at any Cullens.  I kept my thoughts on school as best I could and sat low in my desk to keep the teachers from noticing me.  Not that they typically did anyway, thankfully, but I wanted to be extra careful today. 
   It wasn't until I was halfway home when I saw him again.  I was on the wooded road that led to my street when I saw a tall object in the middle of my lane in front of me.  I quickly hit the breaks, coming to a stop only a few feet in front of Jasper Hale himself.  I groaned again, pressing my forehead against the steering wheel.  He wasn't going to let me walk away, and this time there was no one around to help me if things went south.  I was doomed.  
   A light tap on the window of my car made me lift my head.  He stood outside the passenger door now, gesturing to the lock.  I pursed my lips before unlocking the door.  Might as well meet my fate sooner than later.  He opened it and slid into the passenger seat silently.  I stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to think. 
   "Dani, I know that you think we're something special-"
   I cut him off.  "If you're going to lie to me, then I'm going to turn the radio up so I can't hear you and drive you to the sheriff's office.  I don't calm down like that ever, so you or your family messed with me.  I would've convinced myself I had made the whole thing up if you hadn't done that, but you did.  You know that I know, and you proved that I knew the truth."
   "And what truth is that?"
   "That you're mutants.  Super humans, gifted people, lab experiments, whatever you want to be called."
   He sighed, bringing his hand to his forehead.  "You've got a truck coming up behind you."
   I looked into my rearview mirrors and saw nothing.  I wasn't about to test fate, though, so I took my foot off of the brake and pulled over into a hiking trail parking lot that was only a hundred feet ahead.  Sure enough, at that moment a large pickup drove around the curve and into view, passing us at a speed I knew was over the limit.  Nodding to myself, I tapped my fingers nervously on the steering wheel. 
   "So what are you going to do to me?" I finally asked. 
   He turned his head to look at me, making my heart skip a beat.  I gritted my teeth, hoping he couldn't hear heartbeats.  He responded with his own nervousness in his voice, though, likely not concerned with my noisy pulse. 
   "What do you mean?"
   "I know your secret.  Aren't you going to silence me or erase my memories or something?"
   "No."
   I glanced over at him, getting frustrated with this game. 
   "Then why are you here?"
   "Because I find you intriguing."
   My heart flipped and sped up yet again.  That was not something that was said to me everyday.  And it was a compliment I valued, which made him even more interesting to me.  
   "Oh...  In a good way or a bad way?"
   "Good way," He chuckled. 
   "Huh.  So are you the one who messed with my emotions earlier, or was that one of your siblings?" I had to ask; the curiosity was driving me crazy!
   He looked me in the eyes, searching them for something in particular, before answering.  "It was me."
   And that was exactly what I was afraid of.  I groaned, covering my face with my hands. 
   "Why does that bother you?"
   "Because that means you're an empath," I told him despite the fact he already knew that. 
   "And?"
   "And that means you know what people around you are feeling!"
   He smirked a little.  "Yes."
   I took to looking out my side window, my cheeks burning bright red.  So that's why he approached me today.  It was because I had sat there observing his family and letting my heart freak out when I got to him!  I was not very good at handling myself around super humans.  
   "Truth is, I'm not the only one you intrigue.  You managed to correctly label each of my siblings with their, well, superpower.  Edward was listening in when you did, and it sparked our curiosity." 
   Great.  Now they thought I had a super power, too.  
   "I'm not special that way," I turned in my seat to face him.  "I just read a lot of comics, watch tons of movies, and have a very bad habit of making up crazy stories in my head.  Not typically about the people around me, but your family is so different that I guess I let my imagination run wild.  That's all." 
   He shook his head, looking out of the windshield.  "You don't really believe that, do you?" 
   "Why wouldn't I?" 
   "Because how else would you come up with those exact abilities and match them perfectly?" 
   He seemed fascinated by the whole thing, and I didn't blame him.  It was a pretty cool idea.  I just knew myself.  I wasn't cool enough to be a superhero, and I wasn't emotionally whacked enough to be a villain.  I was just me.  
   "I'm only human," I insisted.  
   He nodded.  "That you are." 
   I stared at him for a moment, letting his reply sink in.  Did that mean that they weren't human or that they didn't consider themselves human?  If they weren't human, what were they?  Aliens?  That was the only thing that seemed logical to me.  I had always expected aliens to have black or green eyes, though, not gold.  
   As I was staring at him, he turned his head to look at me again.  His pretty honey colored gaze met mine and my heart stuttered again.  At that moment, his mouth quirked up a little on one side.  I quickly turned away, glad that he wasn't a mind reader at least.  Empath was bad, but if he could hear my thoughts, I'd have to move out of town.  I just hoped that Edward didn't relay everything he heard to his siblings.  
   "I actually came here to apologize for how this afternoon went down, and to see if you'd be willing to join us for lunch tomorrow." 
   I tapped my fingers nervously on the steering wheel again. 
   "I don't know that's such a good idea." 
   "You wouldn't have to talk to us." 
   "Then why sit with you?" 
   "Because you're weird and we're weird.  Wouldn't it be nicer to sit with people who are more your speed?" 
   I smiled a little, letting my eyes meet his again.  "I doubt that I'm anywhere near your family's speed." 
   He chuckled.  "Not yet.  At least think about it?  I-I'd kind of like to get to know you better." 
   My heart stuttered yet again, bringing back his half smile.  'It's a trick,' I warned myself silently.  For example, She's All That.  Good looking popular kids didn't like nerds like me.  Then again, he wasn't exactly popular and his family wasn't here so he didn't have to be talking to me.  I glanced up at his face again, letting my resolve melt away.  
   "I could try," I offered.  
   He gave me a full, soft smile this time.  "Thank you, Dani." 
   "Can I give you a ride home?" I asked, hoping to seem as nice as he was being to me.  
   "No, I was on a run that I should finish." 
   He glanced out the window before turning back to me.  
   "I'll see you tomorrow." 
   I gave him a small smile.  "See you then." 
   He nodded and climbed out of the car.  Closing the door firmly, he turned and walked towards the hiking trail.  I watched him go, still trying to process all that was said.  Then I blinked once and he was gone.  Like solid gone, gone.  I sank back into my seat, my mind racing.  Did Rosalie have teleportation?  No, that didn't fit.  So what had happened there?!  
   I was going to have a lot of questions for him tomorrow at lunch.  There would be no point in holding them back with his mind reading brother around.  Might as well ask and learn about these strange newcomers in my hometown.  Especially if I was going to continue this mini crush I had on Jasper Hale.