empathy

THIRTY-SEVEN

"Who are they?"

"The Cullens," Angela tells Isabella as they follow her line of few. "They're Dr and Mrs Cullens' foster kids. They moved down here from Alaska like a few years ago," Jessica chirms in, her eyes focusing on Anastasia in Jasper's arms. "They kinda keep to themselves," Angela means.

"Yeah, 'cause they're all together. Like 'together' together," Jessica empathizes. "The blonde girl, that's Rosalie and the big dark-haired guy, Emmett, they're a thing. I'm not even sure they're legal," she starts her usual gossip.

"Jess, they're not actually related," Angela tries to reason. "But they live together. And the little dark-haired girl, Alice, she's really weird. She's with Aurelia, the one who's glaring at us. They're kinda disgusting. But I mean Dr Cullen's like this foster dad slash matchmaker," Jessica brushes her off. 

"Maybe he'll adopt me."

"The blonde who looks like he's in pain, that's Jasper," Jessica once again keeps talking and Jasper's hand tightens in Anastasia's. 

The green-eyed girl looks up at him in confusion. He's been acting weird all day and while emotions still aren't her best shot, she's pretty sure she's getting worried.

"And her?" Isabella asks with her eyes on the girl in Jasper's arms. "That's Anastasia, she's a total bitch. I honestly don't know what she wants with them, she hates everyone," Jessica's face scrunches up. 

Jasper's hand once again tightens in hers and Ana quickly wiggles her fingers. That hurt a little. Her eyes fall onto him once more when they sit down, his whole body tense and his arms quickly pulling her onto his lap. 

Now, it's her time to tense up a little, adjusting herself so her feet are steady on the ground, her hand coming down to one of his arms wrapped around her. 

Her eyes meet his and she frowns at their dark colour. This probably isn't good. 

"Who's he?" Bella quickly loses interest the moment Edward steps into the room. "That's Edward Cullen. He's totally gorgeous, obviously. But apparently, no one here is good enough for him. Like I care..." Jessica scoffs a little at the end, playing off the obvious swarming she just did. "Anyway, don't waste your time."

"Wasn't planning on it."

"Jasper?" Ana calls his name softly, his siblings watching him closely and not very relaxed themselves. He grumbles some incoherent words, his hold loosening a little around her. Not much, just enough to not make her feel as caged. "Try again, darlin'"

Anastasia's eyes widen and just for a moment, she looks over at Emmett, who just shrugs at her. Truth be told, none of them knows what they should do. They've never even officially met the major, never less have him slip up in school. 

His nose buries itself in the crook of her neck and her body tenses up a little more when his lips breathe a kiss on the skin over her carotid artery. 

Ana once again slips her hand in his and peels his arms off her before going up, waiting for him to follow. He does so after a moment, pulling her closer to him as they pass the staring students. The two of them make their way to his bike and the major leans against it, pulling her into his chest the moment they stop walking. 

"What got you so mad?" she asks him, just letting him do for now. "I should rip her apart," he nearly growls, his tone dangerously deep and highly on edge. "Who?" Ana raises a brow even though he can't see it. "That girl."

Yeah, very helpful. Really. 

"You need to calm down," she points out, pulling away as far as he lets her. He looks down at her, unconvinced. Her suggestion clearly doesn't impress him at all. "Please."

His eyes trail down her face, one of his hands coming up to push some strands of hair behind her ear. "Help me," he speaks up, his lips curled into a lopsided smirk as his eyes are fixed on her lips. 

"Hm, you're a big boy. You got that on your own," she retorts. 

His hand stays on her cheek as his other arm pulls her body into his, his thumb falling to her lips and tracing their outline.  "I don't think I want to, sweetheart."

His lips crash down on hers and for a moment Anastasia freezes in his arms before her hands creep up to his neck, her fingers tangling in the tips of his hair when she starts returning the kiss. Their lips move in sync, much more heatedly than last time. 

At some point, he picks her up and turns them around to sit her on his bike, his hands creeping down to the curve of her ass. 

Their lips are in perfect contrast to each other, his cold and soft and hers warm and a little dry but they seem to fit perfectly against each other. His hands wander down to her thighs for a moment and Anastasia gasps a little when he lets them slide back up to her waist, pushing beneath her shirt.

His hands are cold, a goosebump adorning her skin in seconds but he doesn't seem to mind. Or maybe he just doesn't notice when his lips leave hers, spreading a trail down to her neck instead. 

"Major, stop," she pushes him away slightly, suddenly overly aware of their surroundings. His face comes back up to hers and he kisses her one last time, before pulling away, making sure to drag her bottom lip in between his teeth. 

Ana hisses slightly when his teeth pierce too hard and a drop of blood forms on her lips and she pulls away completely, cringing at the taste of blood. 

"Apologies," he speaks up quickly, his eyes still fixed on her lip. "That wasn't my intention."

Her eyes fall back on him and narrow slightly. "Yes, it was."

"You taste delicious, my darlin'."