Counting Sheep [Jasper]

[Rosalie Hale]

And if the sun sets a mile ahead
Maybe then we can just pretend
This time it just seems….

Rosalie wandered down the stairs like a young child that couldn't sleep and was searching for the comfort of their parents. The first thing wrong with that statement was, of course, that Rosalie Hale, being the vampire that she was, couldn't sleep no matter how hard she tried. It was physically impossible. The second was that instead of searching for the relaxing words of a parent, the beautiful blond vampire was willing to settle for the reassurance of anyone. Things had been rough in the Cullen household lately, and that was putting it lightly.

The over sized house seemed empty or at least quiet with peaceful sleep, but Rosalie knew better than to believe that falsehood. No, her adopted family was around somewhere, but she doubted they would seek her out in the living room at such an hour. Rosalie knew that if she really wanted someone to be around her at the moment, she needed to conduct a search of her own rather than wait for someone to stumble upon her. After all, at such an hour it seemed a highly unlikely occurrence. The blond vampire knew that if she grew desperate enough Emmett was most likely in their shared room. Maybe even wondering just where she was at the moment, but Rosalie wasn't ready to face him. Everyone seemed to be walking on thin ice around Rosalie lately and it was beginning to grate on the little control she had over her cold hearted facade. The point was, Rosalie didn't want to endure just how Emmett could be feeling right then; she didn't want to chance the possibility that he, too, would be upset with her. As silly as it sounded, that would be too much.

So, instead of facing what was really bothering her, Rosalie flipped the television on with a brush of a button. Whatever reality show was on at such a late -or rather early- hour didn't make much of an impression on Rosalie, though, as her mind was dragged through thoughts Rosalie wished she could keep from entering her head. No matter how hard Rosalie tried to keep her emotions locked away, even she couldn't deny the feelings of anger, irritation, betrayal and lonliness that seemed to radiate from her skin.

It was going to be a long night.

If we could just forget what was said
Maybe then we can pretend
That all of our lives will be perfect in the end
Take your time, maybe we’ll grow up
But you’ll learn from what you’ve done
You might believe in what you see
But no, it never made sense to me

((I Can't See Myself Getting to Sleep at Night by Valencia))

[Jasper Hale]

Standing up, he paced his room. He had absolutely nothing to do, and he was terribly bored. Sighing, he walked downstairs, wondering what everyone else in the Cullen house was up to. Especially Alice. He knew Edward was, if not with Bella, thinking of her. Emmett may or may not have been with Rosalie, but he wasn't sure. Not with the way things had been around here. He passed Rosalie's room. The door was open, but she wasn't in her room. Heading for the living room, he heard the TV turn on. It had to be Rosalie. If not, then.. Well he wasn't sure who it was. Though, as he entered the living room, he found that it was Rosalie. But he didn't say anything. He just walked over and sat on one of the chairs, his gaze fixed on the TV, but not paying attention.

[Rosalie Hale]

Rosalie's eyes remained trained on the television screen as Jasper sat on a nearby chair, although the blond vampire managed to glimpse the general motions he made from her peripheral vision. For a moment Rosalie tried to focus more intently on the television. Not because she didn't enjoy Jasper's company but rather because he wasn't the type of person she enjoyed pouring her soul out to and emptying her mind in front of. Although, in reality, Rosalie didn't really have anyone like that in her life, except maybe Emmett and Irina, but even that depended greatly on just what sort of mood she was in on that particular day. Truthfully, it was Jasper's special ability that put Rosalie off from pouring her heart out in front of him. Although the odds were that Jasper knew just how Rosalie was feeling at the moment, in a way that only an empath of his nature can, Rosalie preferred to think that he didn't. Rosalie preferred to take the path of feigned ignorance at moments like these; it was so much easier to brood by yourself when you didn't have to worry about someone feeling just what you were feeling for no apparent reason at the same moment just because they were in the same room as you.

Rosalie sighed deeply. It was the sort of noise that was a mixture of impatience and indecisiveness. At that moment, the blond vampire was debating whether trying to strike up a conversation with Jasper would do more harm than good, but whatever the consequence was, Rosalie was in desperate need of company. Beggars can't be choosers, after all.

"I haven't seen you around much lately," commented Rosalie with an air of nonchalance. If memory was serving her correctly, the last time she had seen Jasper was when Edward brought the human thing home, although everyone knew that Rosalie wasn't one to pay attention to minute details when the situation didn't suite her.

[Jasper Hale]

He shrugged as she spoke. I could say the same for you.. he said, trying to remember the last time that he'd seen her. It had to have been when Edward brought home the huma.. er, Bella. What have you been up to? he asked slowly, unsure of how she'd react to not being around him for so long. In fact, he wasn't sure how to act around her or any of the Cullens for that matter. He'd rather keep to himself than mess something up. Especially around Alice. He didn't want to upset her in any way.. But he wanted to be around her nonetheless.

[Rosalie Hale]

At that moment, Rosalie could easily believe whole heartedly that Jasper was her favorite brother, not that he had much competition. After all, Rosalie didn't think of Emmett, her husband, as a sibling, and the whole house was painfully aware of the fact that Rosalie and Edward were currently avoiding each other at all possible occasions. The blond vampire even drove her own red M3 BMW convertible to school -under the illusions of having to drive Irina, of course- to avoid Edward. If one day Carlisle forbid it, odds were Rosalie would probably run rather than ride in Edward's Volvo. Dramatic as it was, it was just how Rosalie was feeling. But the simple fact that Jasper was there made Rosalie favor him even more so, although odds were that not even Emmett would be able to tell from the protected expression Rosalie kept. The only emotion that was obvious was fury, although Jasper, being the empath that he was, could read Rosalie like a book if he chose to. He had the ability to know the blond vampire's emotions even better than her own.

"Nothing really," replied Rosalie nonchalantly. Gingerly, she picked up the black remote controller. Her sensitive fingers skimmed the soft buttons before punching in a new channel number. Truthfully, Rosalie had no clue what she was changing the channel to watch, but the motions were distracting from what was really on her mind. As her eyes remained glued to the thin, black television where a couple was declaring their love for each other, her pink lips parted. "Just being a bitter, old hag. You?"

Rosalie leaned back against the cushions of the couch and it gave way slightly. Being a vampire, temperatures didn't effect the blond vampire like they would a normal human, but Rosalie imagined the soft cushions of the fabric as comforting, warm arms. It was a reassuring thought.