Stay With Me? *Jasper Hale*

chapter twelve

Michael pulled into the school Monday morning and smiled at his sister. "You want me to pick you up after, or do you have a ride?" Michael asked with a smirk. She blushed at him comment and shook her head. "I think I'll have a ride. If not, I'll text you." Michael nodded and waited for her to get out of the car before driving away.

Jasper and Alice were at her side in an instant, Jasper's arm sliding around her waist. Alice pulled her into a hug, "Oh Casey! I missed you!" She beamed. Casey chuckled, "Alice, you saw me yesterday." Alice rolled her eyes dramatically, but smiled.

They walked back towards the Cullen family to wait until they had to start school. "Casey, hunny, what are those shoes?" Rose asked with a cringe. Casey frowned, looking down at her feet. "They're my Vans. Why? What's wrong with them?" "Don't listen to her. They're fine." Alice assured her. Jasper leaned down to her ear, his unnecessary breath fanning her face. "You look beautiful."

"I don't really know why you're whispering," Isaac started, "we can all here you." Alice smacked his chest, "Don't be rude Isaac. Let them have their moment." Jasper rolled his eyes, pulling Casey towards the school. "We're going to class. See you all at lunch."

Casey waved to the Cullens, entering the school just as Bella's truck entered the parking lot. "Oh hey, there's Bella! Can I go say hi? I'll meet you in English." Jasper hesitated before nodding, leaning down and kissing her forehead. "You can't say anything," Jasper reminded her. Casey nodded, "I know. I'll see you in a few minutes." Casey smiled one more time, missing Jasper's smile as she turned around and hurried over towards Bella.

••••

The day went by quickly, and soon it was time for lunch. Jasper stood next to Casey's locker, waiting for her to get out of literature. While he waited he took in the sounds all around him, listening for the voice he'd been missing since first period.

It wasn't Casey's voice that caught his attention though, but rather the new student, Luke Irwin.

"I'm telling you man, I could totally get her. I mean, what does that Cullen freak have that I don't?" Jasper's eyes darted through the students, until he found him. Luke walked alongside his sister and a boy named Andy. "Um, how about like 5 inches?" Lucy spoke like she was pointing out something obvious. "That sounded extremely inappropriate." Andy laughed. Luke and Jasper rolled their eyes at the exact same time.

Jasper snapped out of his mind when he saw Casey and Rose walking down the hallway together. Casey was laughing when they got to him, Rosalie smiling with a proud look on her face.

When Casey stopped laughing, she looked up at Jasper and smiled. He smiled back, slipping his arm around her waist. Rose rolled her eyes dramatically with a smirk. "Ugh, you guys are gross. I'm leaving," she said in a fake voice before smiling at Casey. The girls laughed and Rose headed to the cafeteria. Jasper gave Casey a curious look and she just shook her head. "Don't ask," she giggled. "I'll take your word for it."

Casey unlocked her locker and pulled the door open, replacing her books with the ones she would need after lunch. She shut her locker and was met with the sight of the Irwin twins. Luke smiled enthusiastically at Casey, ignoring Jasper completely. Lucy gave the both of them a kind smile as she opened her locker. "Hey Casey. How's it going?" Lucy asked. "Good. You?" Lucy nodded a little, "It's going. Time difference is killing us though." Casey nodded, "I know the feeling. It'll get better soon. See you guys later." Casey waved as Jasper gently pulled her away, and towards the cafeteria.

Jasper started to take her towards the lunch line, but Casey shook her head. "Ik not really hungry." "Are you sure? You aren't just saying that because we dont eat, are you?" Jasper asked concerned. Casey shook her head, reassuring him that she just wasn't really hungry right now. They walked across the cafeteria to Jasper's table, Casey tried to ignore the eyes on them as they walked.

Across the room, Bella sat with Jessica, Eric, Angela, and Mike. They had been talking about biology homework when they walked in. Bella watched for Edward as Alice and Isaac walked in, followed a little later by Rosalie and Emmett, then Jasper and Casey. Edward wasn't here again, she realized.

"Can you believe that they're dating? Like, she's literally been here for like a week, and now it's like they've all known each other for years." Jessica rambled on, pulling Bella from her thoughts. "Jess, haven't you ever heard of love at first sight?" Anglea asked. Mike scoffed from beside Bella, "Yeah, no. I think Hale has her under some kind of witchy spell or something." Angela looked at him like he was stupid, then turned to Bella. "Back me up here, Bella." Bella shrugged her shoulders, stabbing her fork into her salad. "If Casey is happy with him, then why does it matter so much?" She asked.

Jessica rolled her eyes, "Because! The Cullens have gone to this school for two years, and never talked to anybody outside of their family. Until, Casey got here. Don't you think that's a little weird?" Bella shook her head, "Not really."

The Cullen family had heard every word of their conversation, all of them getting annoyed by Jessica's constant accusations. Casey stopped in the middle of a sentence, noticing the change in mood around the table. "What's wrong?" She asked worriedly. Alice shook her head immediately, putting on a smile. "Nothing. What were you saying about Michael?"

Casey fiddled nervously with her hands. Jasper reaches over and placed a hand on top of hers, holding them gently on her lap. Her nerves faded almost instantly, calmness replacing the anxiety. "He wanted me to invite you all over for dinner. But I know you guys don't eat, so I totally understand that you don't want too." Isaac tilted his head slightly, a teasing smile on his lips. "Who said we didn't want too?"