Sign Of The Times || Jasper Hale

chapter 68

Alex and Peter had changed since the Cullens came into their lives. They had gotten more social and could even consider some people 'friends'. Yet here they were, going to their lunch table. The one that they had shared with the Cullen siblings for a while, but they now shared with only one another.

"She's sitting here." Alex hears her brother say before she even reaches the lunchroom doors. She knew who it was about. Bella had been the subject of many conversations between the siblings. "It seems as if she's waiting for us."

Alex opens the door and her head immediately snaps towards their table, where Bella is indeed making herself comfortable. The latter looks around and slightly waves at Alex as to not attract to much attention but enough for Alex to get curious.

"Can you handle it?" Peter asks as he walks over to the table first.

"You and Harvey are around, right?"

"Hey Bells." Alex says as she places down her book and sits down. "What brings you to our table?" Bella flinches slightly at the underlying tone but quickly puts on a small smile.

"I got to be around more people right?"

Peter nods. "Sure." He takes a bite of his apple and looks at his sister who is looking Bella up and down. "So how are you? Feeling better?"

"Yeah, totally," Bella nods. "Feeling better." Alex narrows her eyes at the girl. Bella was pretending to be fine when all three of them - almost the entire school - knew that that wasn't true.

She heard about the movie night Bella had with Jessica. It ended with Bella going to some strange bikers and saying that she knew them, something that did not sound like Bella.

"That's great!" Peter replies. "Not to be rude, but why aren't you sitting with your friends over there?" He subtly motions his head over to them. "They're kind of curious as to why you are sitting with us."

Bella glances right past Peter's head, trying hard to not be obvious. Alex didn't care and just looks to her right. Peter was right, the whole gang was looking straight at them or trying to be inconspicuous about the fact that they were lurking over their shoulders.

"I was with you more than before-.." Alex narrows her eyes once more as Bella shrugs. "Y'know." Peter nods in understanding.

Alex had to admit that it was better to see Bella sit somewhere else than the table that she used to share with Edward. It had become kind of scary to see how Bella had transformed into some sort of zombie who didn't respond to anything.

Except at night. Alex, Peter and Harvey all took turns - or went together in Alex' case - to look out for the girl when she was asleep. It did not take long for them to understand that she was having nightmares about the day that Edward left.

**

Alex sits in the back and looks towards her books and sighs. Somehow she missed Edward every Biology class and the fact that Bella was now sitting alone every time and looking at Alex every once in a while did not help. Her haunting eyes and fake smile did not ease Alex' feelings.

This lesson was different, they had to work in teams. And Bella and Alex were the only ones that were left. The first of the two awkwardly made her way towards the table next to Alex.

"You okay?" She asks as she places her stuff down and Alex looks to the side.

"Yeah?" Humans normally didn't tend to ask those questions and even though the whole situation with Bella was different, it still startled her a little. Alex furrows her eyebrows. "Why?"

Bella shrugs. "You seem a little different today."

Maybe because I want to drink all of your blood.

"Oh?"

**

The lesson was easy and Bella already seemed to understand everything so they were done soon enough, leaving room for awkward small talk. Both were horrible at it.

"How are they?" Bella eventually asks as she stands next to the desks, waiting on Alex who is still putting her books in her bag. Alex' head snaps up.

"What?"

"You're still in contact with them right?" Alex narrows her eyes at the girl. "I mean, you and Jasper-.."

"What about us?" Alex didn't mean to sound so harsh and luckily, Bella didn't hear it like that.

"You seemed so in love. Must've been love at first sight. So you can't really break that right?" Alex chuckles and puts her books in her locker.

"Oh you thought Jasper and I got on perfectly when we met? Oh no my dear, it was the exact opposite." Bella's expression changes to curiosity and Alex motions for Bella to walk with her as they make their way outside. It was easier with fresh air and Peter was outside as well to keep her from doing anything.

"Really?" Alex nods and ignores the stares that they get. It was as if the whole school had noticed that Bella was catatonic and now suddenly talking to the one that was pretty closed off.

"I hated his guts. Almost all of them." Bella raises an eyebrow and Alex chooses not to mention Edward by name, she could imagine how hard that would be.

"Why?"

Alex smiles as she remembers how they just sat at her table when Peter was on a tour. "Jasper knew exactly how to get on my nerves." And he did, mostly because he was trying a way to make their conversations about the paintings and she didn't have any intention in talking about them.

"How did he do that?"

Peter wraps an arm around Bella and pulls her towards a table. "Let me tell you exactly why they got on each other's nerves."

~~

Okay, so some Bella and Alex bonding. Finally. Getting through the chapters quickly though because there are big things ahead 😍