empathy

THREE

„I can't believe I did it," Anastasia points out plainly as she looks at Jasper's and her reflection in the mirror. "Of course, you did it," he replies as though it's obvious. But really, with all those skipped days of her as well as leaving with Jasper, she didn't think she'd graduate at all. Yet here she is.

A knock sounds at the door and just a second later, Antonina skips in, a big grin on her face.

"Now, don't you look exquisite, little lady," Jasper smirks a little at her appearance, his eyes falling onto Emmett, who merely shrugs in response, his own smile dancing on his lips. "Thank you, sir," Antonina grins a toothy grin at the cowboy, who can't help but chuckle.

She sure is a mini-Ana.

"We thought you might like it," Rose speaks up, gaining Anastasia's attention. "I love it," said woman means simply before leaning down to pick up her sister. "But how did you...?" "Jasper told us," Rosalie cuts her off before she can finish and gushes them into a slightly posing position so she can get a polaroid of them.

They gifted Nina one of the cameras after seeing how much she likes to take pictures and a polaroid just seemed perfect. That way Antonina can look at the pictures immediately and at any time.

Ana lets her sister down again and straightens out her dress that is almost identically to her own.

Anastasia is wearing a rather simple yet elegant dark green, satin dress reaching down to the midst of her thighs. Spaghetti straps run down her exposed back in a crisscrossed manner, holding the dress tight until it reaches her waist. Her hair is curled to perfection and light make up is adorning her face.

Antonina is wearing a dress in the same color and length, but her back is covered and it's a slightly softer fabric. Her hair is also curled and she has used her kid's make up to apply some blush that Rose helped her with and lip-gloss.

But while Anastasia is wearing black heels, Antonina is wearing her black ballerinas.

"Well, come on," Jasper picks up Nina, throwing her over his shoulder and making sure to add an extra skip in his steps when he carries the giggling girl down the stairs. "We're late."

Anastasia watches them softly and the three of them follow the pair soon after.

--- -- -

"I can't believe you're still wearing your suit," Anastasia exclaims as they get ready to mingle with the tons of people in the Cullen's house. Throwing a party was a stupid idea, it destroys the peace and Antonina's sleep.

Rosalie and Emmett, though, were surprisingly happy to have an excuse to miss it and have taken Antonina to Anastasia's house shortly after the ceremony.

"You like the suit," Jasper points out, his hands on her waist while she adjusts his tie once more. "I do," she agrees, making him smirk a little, a suggestive tone adding to his voice. "I know." She lightly slaps his chest before pulling away.

Or well, she goes to pull away, which proves itself to be rather hard when he holds her in place to lean in for a kiss.

"I love you," he means when he is finally ready to pull away, his lips coming into contact with her forehead before he lets go of her completely. "I love you, too."

--- -- -

"You're here," Georgia seems rather surprised to see both Jasper and Anastasia attending the party. "Hm," Jasper merely hums in response. "We were just leaving," Ana adds.

Neither of them is very keen on being here. Anastasia is getting rather hungry, if you want, and Jasper is running out of energy to help her; he hasn't been feeding in a long time himself.

Her hand is curled around his wrist as hard as she can in an attempt to find something to focus on and she has completely stopped breathing. Not that any of it helps much.

"Oh," Georgia observes quietly. "You should sneak out the back. There are wolves coming," she points at Anastasia's eyes, which have turned a deep black color, the contacts dissolved.

"Who invited them?" Jasper frowns. "Better yet why are they coming?" Ana chirms in once more. "Bella and Jacob," Georgia sighs. "Well, that explains it."

Jasper looks down at her, noticing the way she keeps getting tenser.

"We should probably go," he hints and Georgia nods.

--- -- -

Anastasia grimaces at the taste of animal blood and even more so at the feeling of hairs on her lips. God, this is disgusting, why is anyone doing this on their own free will. Spitting out the hair as well as she can, she peels them off her tongue while Jasper goes to feed as well.

"I miss drunk women," she sighs to herself, finally getting everything out of her mouth. "Hm, I bet," Jasper drops his deer and makes his way back over to her.

He has loosened his tie to feed and Anastasia quickly redoes it. The perfectionist in her can't have that no matter how hot it looks.

"They taste so much sweeter, and the touch of alcohol is just perfect," she sighs dreamily. "I'll get Carlisle to bring another blood bag," he counters, a big smile spreading across her face. "You're a lifesaver."

Jasper merely chuckles at that, his thumb wiping a drop of blood from her chin.

"I know, darlin'. I know." "You're also very cocky," she adds with a pointed look. "I know," he repeats once more.

His smirk widens a little and her eyes widen when he swiftly throws her over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" she yelps when he speeds them somewhere she can't make out. Though, it quickly becomes clearer when they arrive at the clearing, he helped her gain control over her power.

He lets her down, his hands sliding from her thighs to her ass while she slips down to stand on the ground.

"Now, I'm not doing anything, ma'am," he offers an innocent look, mischief glistering in his eyes. "Sure, you aren't," she means when he leans down to trail kisses down her neck. "I won't be doing anything until you give me your okay, darlin'."

"And what if I don't?" she asks him, simply out of curiosity. There is no way she can ever ay no to him, she wouldn't want to.

"Then I'll stand down and we can watch the stars."

"Okay," Anastasia breaths, squealing once more when he once again speeds them. This time to have her lay on the ground.

"My dress," she complains, knowing the slightly wet grass will leave stains or find a way to ruin it in other ways. "I'll buy you a new one," he brushes it off and makes his way down towards her chest, leaving wet kisses in his wake.

--- -- - -- ---