FOREVER AND ALWAYS ━━━━ jasper hale.

20- Protect and Attack

"I have to protect my family and have a life with them that is completely private."

-Youssou N'Dour

***

I burst through the door of the ballet studio at full speed, the sound of my boots hitting the tile drowning out the sound of my heartbeat. I ran into the main room, terror squeezing every pore in my body until I could barely breath.

The room was empty.

"No." I mumbled, turning around to look, the big mirrors reflected my appearance back to me, and I almost collapsed from fear. This man hunter has Sadie and Bella.

"Why Hello, darling."

I don't know why, maybe instinct, but I whipped my head around, holding out the small blade of my pocketknife out. James laughed. He was standing by the entrance, two figures on either side of his body. Bella looked extremely pissed off, while Sadie looked downright terrified, and kept mouthing words I couldn't decipher in my direction.

"Let them go." My voice was surprisingly even, even though my heart was beating like a hummingbirds.

"Gladly." He dropped the grip on the girls shoulders, and they both scurried away to my side, Sadie basically crawled up my arm, and didn't let go even after she was completely standing.

"Listen to me, Courtney." James sauntered toward me. This was all just a game to him, only a game. A game he knew he was going to win. "You try to call any of your vampire friends, I will snap her neck before you could even blink."

"Vampire!" Sadie explained. "W-What is he talking about, Court?"

"Just let them go." I hissed, ignoring my friend. "You only want one of us, you only want me."

"Don't get into the long speech. Don't tell me that your vampire boyfriend will come save you. And if he doesn't, maybe Bella's will."

"Vampire boyfriend what the fuck-"

"If you hurt either of us they will kill you." I narrowed my eyes. "You know they will kill you."

I pointed roughly to Sadie. "And why bring her into this? She didn't even know, she didn't even suspect!"

James sighed, "Well, I admit it did cause me a bit of an unnecessary effort on my part. But I figured that I could easily lure Bella here using your mother, and you would come once you realized she was gone. But your little bodyguard Alice got in the way of that. I had to get you out quietly, alas, she will be contacting the rest of her family now, so I cannot stall much longer. I heard about your little friend, and that she was coming to visit Forks... so I intercepted her in her apartment building... I admit it was a slight more difficult capture then some... but she put up a fight." She grinned, running his tongue over his lips. "But no human is a match for me."

Conceited bastard. I bit my lip. Jasper said I was strong. Maybe I am strong enough to get us out of here alive.

"And Bella told me that she left a letter to Edward, so I thought I'd do the same. Maybe Mr. Jasper and Miss. Alice would like to read it too.' He gestured to the corner of a room, where a little camcorder was set off, the red light signifying that it was recording. I gasped. "You sick son of a bitch." I hissed.

"I thought that the family couldn't possibly resist hunting me after this. And I wouldn't want any of them to miss a moment. Of course, it is quite sad. You three are all simple humans that were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The answer was there all along, and I was so afraid Edward would see that so it ruined my fun. It happened once, ages ago, only once when my prey escaped me. The vampire who was too stupidly fond of you, Courtney, made the choice that little Bella's Edward was too afraid to make. Some may say that I was afraid of yours Courtney. Jasper is known for being a skilled fighter. But how good can one be?"

I swear in that moment, I stopped breathing. "J-Jasper-"

"When old one knew I was after his little friend, he stole her from the Asylum."

Asylum? Wh-

"Alice." I whispered, connecting the dots in my head. James grinned sadistically. "Well done."

"A hundred years earlier and she would have been burned at the stake for her visions. In the nineteen twenties it was the asylums and shock-treatments. She opened her eyes with fresh youth. I'd admit, I was surprised to see her in that clearing."

James took a step forward so we were eye-to-eye, he grabbed a piece of my hair and sniffed it. I stiffened, but didn't say a thing. I know how fast these guys are, how strong. I would need to surprise him.

One, two, three-

"Run!" I yelled, driving my knife into his shoulder and managing to shove him away. It didn't hurt him, but gave the other two a chance to run for the door.

"Strong, but not enough." He pushed me back, so hard that I felt my body fly into the wall, thankfully not the mirror.. It stunned me, but I got back on my feet shortly after. I screamed as I saw Bella, on the other side, limp by the mirrors, blood oozing from his hand. Sadie was next, James quite literally chucked her into the wall. She fell limp, un moving.

"No!"

James laughed, taking his time in stalking over to me, I crouched down.

"Very dramatic. That is why I picked this place for my little film. I see it worked quite effectively." He walked over to Bella, stomping on her leg and earning a blood curdling scream.

"So...Co-"

I didn't let him finish, I jumped over and tackled him, football style, shoving into the wall and earning a few cuts from the broken class. We wrestled on the ground, the glass shards on the ground digging into my back.

"I see they weren't exaggerating. You are strong."

I responded by switch and shoving him off. James lept over and slammed my head into the wall. Pain spread through my head, clouding my vision with red as struggled to stay on my feet. I felt my knees hit the floor. He was walking towards Bella. All of the blood, he can't resist.

"N-No-" i tried to speak, but my words came out weak. I inched my hand towards my knife, grabbing a hold of it. Using the last remaining energy I have, I managed to stand, using the wall to support me. "H-Hey James!" I yelled, and as soon as his blood red eyes landed on me, I slashed the knife across my stomach. pain enveloped my vision as James jumped over to me.

"N-Not, B-B-Bella." I managed, before falling to the ground.

I heard a lot of yelling, which confused me. How could there be yelling? Maybe I'm in hell... I honestly wouldn't be surprised.

"Courtney, honey, can you hear me?"

Was that-

"Courtney, it's Carlisle, can you hear me?"

"Kn-Kn-" i tried to talk, and heard a lot of screaming, and commotion coming from the edges of my mind. I could hear, I'm alive... Carlisle.

"She needs stitches and she is loosing a lot of blood!"

"You'll be okay, Cordie." Another voice floated into my consciousness. It was Alice. "Remember that you kick ass."

"One's coming too! Bella got bit!"

"Get the venom out!"

I felt a sharp prick, and then took a deep breath as the world around me faded to blackness.

A/N: She protecc, she attacc, she-