V a p o r ▶ J. HALE (COMPLETED.)

2.

Wedding. 

Part 1.

Friday, 9:02 am.

Cullens' house.

Dema was sitting on a chair, hugging her knees to her chest, as she waited for Alice to finish Bella's makeup. At the moment, she was only wearing a bathrobe, similar to Bella's. Her navy blue dress hung on the back wall, right besides Bella's bridal gown.

She gazed into her own reflection in the mirror in front of her. Her eyes traveled from her messy, long hair, to her bite marks on her neck. She absentmindedly covered a few of them on her right side with her fingers. She smiled, remembering what Jasper had told her just a few months prior. 

She stared at the mirror covering one of the Cullens' back walls. Her eyes traveled from her wrists to her shoulders. For the first time since she had moved to Forks, the weather was warm enough to use a sleeveless shirt. At first, she was excited she'd finally be able to enjoy the sun, but then she remembered her body was covered with scars. 

She absentmindedly crossed her arms over her chest, her hands grabbing onto her shoulders to conceal even more skin. She frowned, and let her arms fall to her sides with a short sigh. Her gaze fell to the reflection of an armchair behind her, where her black jacket rested. She turned away from the mirror and grabbed the jacket, slipping it on quite quickly. 

"Is it difficult?" Jasper's voice echoed through the mostly empty house. 

Dema looked up, meeting his golden eyes and shimmering, porcelain, white skin. Rays of sunshine beamed across the room, reflecting on Jasper's skin with ease. 

"What's difficult?" She frowned. 

"To stare at a mirror and not be able to recognize your own reflection," Jasper replied, approaching her slowly. "It happened to me too. Centuries ago, of course." He stopped walking once he stood right in front of her. 

"Really?" Dema looked up at him, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. 

"Yes, even though I couldn't remember the feeling quite well, until now..." He frowned, his gaze getting lost in his own reflection. 

Dema turned away from him, facing the mirror too. She followed his gaze, as it rested on his own arms. He had a long-sleeved shirt on, hiding his scars under the thin cloth. She noticed he slowly clenched his jaw and fists, tensing up with desperation. 

She looked up at him, searching for a sign of tranquility. There was none. She slowly reached his right hand with her left hand, caressing his fist lightly before raising her fingers up to his wrist. She turned once more to the mirror, noticing he had tensed up even more. 

"You might not be able to recognize who that is, staring back at you, in that mirror..." She started, her gaze dropping back to his hand as she grabbed onto his sleeve and started rolling it up to his elbow. "But, I do." She turned back to the mirror and their eyes met through their own reflections. "This is the reflection of the man I'm crazy about. At first, it wasn't like that, though. He used to annoy me, a lot, even though he was just trying to protect me. We did tend to argue a lot. But that's because he claims I'm impulsive and reckless." She caressed the bite marks on his forearm softly.

At this, Jasper raised his eyebrows with a playful smirk.

"Of course, he's right, but don't tell him I said that." He chuckled lightly, making her smile. She turned towards him, looking up into his golden eyes as she pointed at his chest. "This is the Jasper Hale I recognize. That reflection is just that- a reflection. That doesn't have your heart, your loyalty, your charm, and dashing attitude."