Tattoos & Scars [1] | Jasper Hale

-03-

It was after Maggie learned the truth, still holding a slight grudge on Joanna, that the said girl returned to her work the day after. Her head was limp, tiredness seeping through the cracks of her skin as she lazily read through a book at her station. Some book based about how a female vampire fell in love with a human boy - cheesiness that Joanna craved. As she flipped through another page, the bell rung above the door and her grey eyes locked with Alice Cullen.

Easily, a frown was pulling her lips down. She stood up, her long-sleeved, maroon dress dropping right above her knee as she stood. Her black stockings added to her grunge looking fashion choice today and her black combat boots clicked against the tile floor as she walked towards Alice. Her frown still covering her lips.

"Morning," she greeted cheerily, smiling widely before she was pulling someone inside that made Joanna's frown deepen. Jasper Hale. Once again, the blonde who was stare silently tripped into the room. Embarrassment was clear on his face as he sent a small glare down to his sister. "I brought my brother once again."

"I don't want any fighting," Maggie ordered from the back room, her car keys jingling in her hand as she walked towards the building's front doors. The other day, Maggie said she was going to her son's, Daniel's field trip down town to a local farm. At first, the older woman placed Joanna in charge. But after the small bicker between her and the certain blonde near the front doors, she placed Nathaniel in charge of the store. "I'll see you at noon tomorrow, Jo." The bell rang as she marched outside and towards her black jeep that rested right next to Alice's own vehicle.

"Great. Now it's time for small talk, yeah?" No one answered and so she took that as a yes. She gripped Jasper's hand and yanked him towards the couch that rested by the front counter, pushing him onto the leather piece of furniture before turning towards the artist. "Come on, he doesn't bite."

Hearing that made Jasper subtly freeze before relaxing once again.

"I have work to do, Alice. I'm sorry but not today," the woman said softly, though annoyance was twisting with her words. After that day, the day where she was sent home, she held a slight grudge for the extremely pale family. As she stood there, watching Alice's explosive reaction and Jasper's dull reaction, she took time to realize how odd their family could be at times. The first time their sister, Rosalie, walked into the salon with Alice, it was clear the blonde female was irritated and scared. When she touched her hands for the first time, they were shaking. But the cold feeling never bothered her.

And when it did, which she grew accustomed to, she never commented on the topic. She believed that Rosalie would feel more comfortable with small talk and a few laughs thrown in between. But now, as Alice pouted at her, she wished that she was with Rose. At least she knew when to stop things.

Alice shook her head, jerking her thumb to the blonde by her. "Nope! Come on, just for a little bit." She whined, acting more like a child than the teenager she clearly was. It made Joanna's ears ache. "I'm sorry about the other day. Jasper wasn't the greatest-" he rolled his eyes at that, "-and I was a bit of a jerk for risking your job like that. But I have this feeling; a strong feeling, that something will happen between you two. Believe me; I'll believe you!"

Nathaniel, from the back, chocked on his laughs while he tried to stifle them. When grey and amber eyes turned toward him, his cheeks were coated with a faint red color and he excused himself. Sighing, Joanna returned her gaze on Alice, struggling to understand why she wanted her and her brother to communicate so much. The only reason was that she had a feeling. However, inside Joanna's head, she wondered if she should oblige to get Alice to stop pestering her about it.

"There are no customers," Joanna stated matter-of-factly, looking towards the front. When she saw that no one was in the parking lot, she made her way towards the open sign and flicked it off. Alice's squeal made her ears ache, once more.