twilight imagines.

first glance. (j. hale)

{request for: MadisonMarie138 ! <33}

"are you ready?"
"yeah. so ready."
y/n's reply was thick with sarcasm as she laid sprawled out on her bed,
eyes glued to the ceiling.
she still felt the motions of the airplane taking a toll on her body.
the last thing she wanted was to attend an entirely different school and muster a smile that felt as fake as it looked.
bella leaned against y/n's doorframe with her lips pressed together,
the two swan sisters trying to figure out what words to say that could come as comfort.
but how could they?
both of them were lost in their own thoughts and storm of feared change.
"come on. i'll be by your side the whole day."
y/n knew the words were forced encouragement for her and bella both.
but she slid out of the bed,
did the bare minimum in getting ready,
and sat quietly in the passenger seat of bella's new truck.
their arrival was announced to the sound of bella's rumbling engine.
everyone turned their heads and eyed them,
looks of inquiry being shot at them,
giggles being scattered at their expense.
but if y/n was being honest?
she hardly cared.
she couldn't quite explain why life had become so mundane these past few weeks.
though if she had to guess,
it was the change in scenery.
no more sunny florida with sticky air and crowded beaches.
it was all replaced with dark clouds and rainy days.
y/n sighed a sigh of melancholy at this reminder as she piled out of the car,
feeling the eyes of the remaining students around burn through y/n and her sister.
when they walked into the school,
they soon parted ways for their classes,
which made y/n become anxious at the sudden solitude.
she assumed bella would be there with her every step of the way,
at least it had been that way in florida.
but of course,
nothing was going her way as of right now.
when she walked into her first class,
expecting nothing but the worst,
she was met with the first glimmer of hope she felt in what felt like forever.
the first set of eyes she allowed herself to become drawn into were golden,
tinged with a hunger y/n couldn't name.
though she felt it begin within herself too.
"you can sit next to jasper, if you'd like,"
the teacher whispered at y/n's side.
"jasper? that's the one there?"
y/n subtly pointed to the boy currently staring through her.
"mhm."
the girl made her way beside him,
where she would take a slow seat in hopes he would tear his eyes off of her.
but he hadn't quite yet.
"what's your name?"
he asked when she was settled.
"y/n...you're jasper, right?"
he nodded his head in response.
"nice to meet you."
jasper was reeling himself in as best he could;
he was coming undone in her presence.
never in his existence had he felt such tranquility at the same time as this carnal desire.
he couldn't decide if he wanted to sink his teeth into that glistening, soft flesh of hers or wrap her up into his arms and never let go.
whatever was happening was completely new to jasper.
he didn't know much,
but he knew this girl was meant for him.
by the way she was staring,
jasper couldn't help but let his mind wonder.
was it possible that she, too, felt this union of their psyches to create an otherworldly experience? 
did she feel all of these stirring feelings along with him?
were these plausible thoughts?
"are you okay?"
she asked with a tone of concern.
jasper snapped back to reality.
"yeah, i'm okay. you?"
y/n shrugged.
"lonely, tired, bored, cold."
jasper wished more than anything that he radiated the necessary body warmth to tangle her up into his arms and prevent the cold from ever bothering her again.
but it seemed jasper was forced to draw back and say,
"yeah. welcome to forks."
the class fell dim beneath the teachers instruction.
everyone's eyes were meant to focus on the video playing ahead,
but with y/n around?
jasper didn't know how he would ever get anything done.
her perfume would float around in his lungs where it belonged,
her angelic face would prominently remain in his memory,
and all he wanted to do was be in her company.
even now,
he couldn't tear his eyes off of her.
"how long have you been here?"
y/n then asked in a low whisper.
"some years. time seems to go slower here."
the girl let out a gentle laugh that made jasper smile immediately upon hearing it.
how harmonious it sounded in a town so dull.
she was beginning to paint all of jasper's darkest skies in colors he never knew existed.
and all she'd done to bewitch him was simply exist.
"where'd you move from?"
"florida."
"really? oh, yeah. you're going to have a lot of adjusting to do."
y/n hid her laugh behind her hand,
trying to stifle it before she drew attention towards them,
then nodded her head in agreement.
"so much adjusting."
"well, if you ever need a hand...i'm here."
she gave him a close lipped smile that was still so enticing to jasper,
that he couldn't help but return it.
"thank you."
she laid a hand to his forearm in a daze of attraction.
something was luring her in,
though she couldn't figure out what.
but whatever it may be,
if it meant being able to revel in this euphoria for a little while longer,
y/n would allow herself to fall victim to the alchemy rising inside of her over and over again.
jasper waited for the retraction of her gentle hand against his abnormally chilled skin,
but it never came.
the longer her hand rested against his being,
the longer he could wallow in her fragrant smell.
neither of them could quite place a name to the chemistry rising between them.
but if feigning ignorance to it meant being able to stay with one another,
then it was well worth it.
***
when y/n hadn't been to school in the last week,
jasper couldn't help but to think of the worst possible reasons.
and though he often forced himself to think rationally,
he still found that the panic settled into his bones at the fear of her being hurt.
jasper couldn't possibly manage another day without knowing what was happening with her.
since their very first day in class together,
they had grown to be great friends who often insinuated more than met the eye,
but they hadn't left each other as abruptly as this.
if she was leaving school early due to feeling sickly, she would slip a note into his locker for him to see.
when he was aware of the too sunny days approaching,
he would let her know to expect his absence until it clouded over again.
there had been no questions ask,
no absence unexplained.
so for y/n to up and leave jasper clueless was rather out of character.
he decided that would be his excuse to show up to her house unannounced.
when his knuckles rapped against her front door,
trying his hardest to swallow his worries,
he hadn't quite been expecting y/n to open up with sallow skin and nearly lifeless eyes.
"y/n? what...what's wrong?"
"i've got pneumonia. too much rain too soon."
she managed a weak smile and blinked at him through half lidded eyes.
his still heart felt sore for her.
"i told bella to tell you. i guess she forgot."
"i guess she did,"
jasper repeated.
he could see the way y/n was beginning to shy away from his gaze;
she was sure this languid look of hers wasn't attractive to him.
but jasper couldn't find it in himself to ever think anything harmful of her.
she would forever be the prettiest girl,
the most charming,
his absolute love.
nothing,
especially not a sickness as temporary as this,
could ever change that.
"would you like to come in? i...i didn't clean much."
"i just wanted to see you. to make sure you were okay."
jasper slowly lifted a hand to hold her cheek with the palm of his hand.
he could feel the sweltering of her feverish skin beneath it.
"i missed you,"
she whispered in a moment of pure vulnerability.
her head was aching from this sickness,
meaning she hardly cared what slipped from her tongue.
all that mattered was that jasper was here;
she'd never felt so elated.
"i'm here, okay?"
jasper wrapped an arm around y/n's waist to keep her upright;
the air surrounding her was filled with the smell of liquid medicine to heal her and it was quickly taking effect.
y/n soon climbed into her bed then pulled carefully on jasper's arm to bring him closer.
before they knew it,
they were tangled up into each other's arm with no sense of where either one ended or began.
"y/n?"
jasper asked in a low voice,
wondering if she had fallen asleep.
he continued to caress the small of her back with the soft strokes of his fingertips while waiting in silence for a reply.
"yeah?"
he didn't say anything.
he hadn't quite prepared himself for anything further,
he just wanted to hear the ring of that melodic voice.
"bella told me about your family, if that's what you're worried about."
"what? she-she told you?"
y/n mumbled an answer then picked her head up to lay a soft kiss to his chin.
"you don't scare me. i trust you more than i trust anyone. and i...i think i love you."
jasper felt a smile grow across his lips in response to her.
"i think i love you too, y/n."
y/n nestled her head to his chest with a faint smile to match his.
she was on the edge of unconsciousness,
but she could feel the fever in her skin being drained by the embrace of jasper beneath her.
for once,
he felt useful for y/n.
it was a fleeting feeling to know he could be good enough for her;
he would love her with his hearts extent.
it was amusing to think how far they'd come in just a few, short blissful months together.
but jasper knew from the first time he laid eyes on
y/n l/n that he would never face another night alone again.