Writer in the Dark - J. HALE

3 - ᴄᴏᴍꜰᴏʀᴛ

ATHENA MANAGED to get through the first week of her school without much trouble. That was until the day that Alice invited her over to sit with the others. After the initial days of excitement due to her arrival had passed, Athena had been left alone in school. Everyone realised that she liked to keep to herself more and didn't dare to approach her on most days, given that someone had gotten quite the threatening glare the first time. It was his own fault though, he was being inappropriate and was lucky he didn't get a fork in his eye. Athena did keep chatting to one human though and that was Eric, who she had found extremely interesting to talk to. All that peace fell off the scale as she took the spare seat at the table next to Jasper, all eyes were on her and she fought the urge to use her gift to make it all stop. Instead, she just smiled and fake ate, listening to music through one earbud. Jasper had become a sort of friend, though he acted kind of awkward around her still. She just expected that he was one of those people that had to warm up to people before trusting them with anything. She liked that about him.

On Saturday morning, following a century-old tradition, she headed to Billy's at nine o'clock in the morning. She knocked softly, knowing Jake was still asleep and opened the door once Billy told her it was okay to do so. They watched a ton of movies, talking over most of them and once Jake had eventually stirred at twelve minutes past eleven, she got to know him too. To her, he seemed like a good kid and with every word he said, she saw more of Billy in him. Which pleased him once they discussed it.

Just after midday, she wandered out of the house, head held high as she battled the urge to stare the wolves hidden in the treeline down. Billy had the conversation with them all one evening as they sat around the fireplace and it wasn't the most welcome she had ever felt in her existence. A few glares didn't bother her though. Athena walked at human speed, not daring to go through the woods where she would most likely be attacked. She wanted to give the wolves the chance to cool off and realise she wasn't a threat before going that far. So she took a leisurely stroll through forks, making note of all the things that had changed and everything she had yet to discover. Once she had crossed the invisible line that marked the reservation, her day changed from peaceful.

She almost jumped at the sudden figure that appeared in front of her, nearly knocking her notebook from her hand. "Lucifer, Jasper!" she exclaimed, continuing to walk forward. She knew about the treaty and thought it dangerous that he had gotten so close to the borders. His expression remained a fixed-line as he walked alongside her. He wore a deep blue button-down and a leather jacket with the sleeves rolled up, showing all the scars that littered his arms. Her gaze lingered on them for a little too long as they walked.

"Why were you on the reservation?" he asked, turning his head to look at her. She saw the concern creasing the corners of his darkened eyes and felt her heart soften a little.

"No hello, good afternoon, how are you first?" she chuckled, trying to dispel the feeling from her body before the defensive wall broke and he could feel what she did.

He smiled softly, "Hello Miss Alcott,"

"Afternoon Mr Hale," she laughed, feeling slightly awkward about the formality of the conversation. She wanted to push whatever walls of safety he had put around himself away so she could get to know him properly, he was an interesting character and she would be lying if she said she wasn't the slightest bit attracted to him. She paused for a second, watching a squirrel dart across the road in front of then. "I was on the reservation to see someone."

He raised a brow, "A wolf?"

The concern in his voice fueled her intrigue in him even further. "Ex- Wolf. Billy Black? We were friends when he was younger."

"How old are you?"

"Jasper Hale! You don't go asking a woman her age!" she exclaimed, laughter woven between the words. "I'm eighteen."

"Really?" he chuckled softly, raising a brow as he looked at her.

"Yeah, it was my birthday a few weeks ago. Why, did you think I was immortal or something?" she replied, a smug small grin tugging on her lips. He sighed deeply and looked away, shaking his head softly. Athena fought the urge to laugh.

"How many times have you turned eighteen?"

"Oh around two hundred and forty-six times, give or take a little," she spoke softly so no one overheard their conversation. His eyes widened, surprised she had been around that long. Vampires were frozen at the age they were turned, both physically and mentally so Athena just felt like an eighteen-year-old girl. She had just been around a lot longer than most eighteen-year-olds. "How about you?" she asked, looking to the ground to avoid his gaze.

"Nineteen for one hundred and forty-two years, give or take."

She smiled softly, "Is that why you still struggle with blood?"

He smirked, "How could you tell?"

"Jasper, you literally go around looking like your about to murder someone at any given time." He raised a brow at her comfort in such a discussion. "The only time I've seen you relaxed was in your own home."

"I like the honesty," he chuckled softly, people tended to shy away from his thirst so Athena mentioning it and acting as if it was normal had an effect on him. A comforting one.

"I don't have the time for lies anymore, well the ones that don't count towards anything anyway."

"We have all the time in the world," he replied, looking at her in bewilderment.

She sighed softly, "Yes but I'd rather not live an afterlife full of lies, wouldn't you?"

"I suppose."

She chuckled softly, turning to face him again with an amused grin, "Anyway, were you following me?"

"What?" he blurted, almost retracting himself from the conversation. He hadn't been following her, on purpose. He just found himself awfully concerned after seeing her walk onto the reservation while hunting and had stuck around to make sure she was okay. He certainly hadn't been following her.

"You ambushed me as soon as I stepped off the reservation," she replied, struggling to keep the smile off her face.

"Coincidence," he shrugged, looking away from her eyes.

"Oh yeah? Where were you headed?" she asked, amusement showing clear in her voice. Of course, she didn't believe a word but would never admit that- this way was more fun.

He paused for a second too long, not exactly painting the idea of truthfulness."For a walk."

She laughed, looking down to the ground as she stepped over a snail. "Sure," she half-laughed, stopping at the steps of her home. "Well, this is my house," she paused, walking up the stairs quickly. "Enjoy your walk, Mr Hale."

He grinned to himself as she disappeared behind the door. He disappeared shortly after, feeling awkward for lingering for too long. Athena chuckled to herself as she pulled off her coat and boots. She changed out of her jeans and into a pair of comfy pyjamas before climbing onto the sofa. She chose a movie to watch as background noise that she could focus on as well as reading the book she grabbed from the case.

That marked the day that Athena felt comfortable in Forks once again.