battle scars // jasper hale fanfiction

chapter two

I woke up with my heart racing. I took slow, deep breaths. That helped a little, but I was still worked up.

When I get really anxious, I wake up in a panic. I think I had a bad dream, but I couldn't remember a single detail.

I slowly got out of bed and found my pill bottles in a box that isn't unpacked yet. I took the handful of medicine that will help me to not be super anxious today and then took a shower. The water helped to calm me down.

I woke up super early because I didn't want to be late for the first day of class. I had no clue where half of my stuff was, so I was glad I gave myself the extra time to get ready.

When my bag was packed, I headed downstairs to get something for breakfast. I really wasn't hungry from all the nerves, but it would be something to do. I found my dad making my pancakes.

"Good morning," he said. He briefly looked up from the pan to analyze me quickly. "I figured I'd make your favorite breakfast for your first day of school."

My dad would always do simple things like this to show that he cared. It was really sweet. I knew I'd have a hard time eating anything, but I would force down a pancake to make him happy.

He made small talk throughout breakfast. He was telling me all that he planned to do today. His first day of work was tomorrow, so he had the whole day to get the house together. Apparently, Charlie got off at noon and would be helping him after that. It's nice that my dad could have some help while I was at school.

"Charlie was telling me that you and Bella will be in the same grade. Maybe you'll see her around." My dad was trying to put a positive spin on things. Unfortunately, no matter what my dad would say I would be anxious all day.

After eating one and a half pancakes and giving my dad a quick hug, I picked up my bag and headed to school. I shuffled to my first class of the day: English. I chose a chair that wasn't in the middle but also not too close to the teacher to seem like a nerd while not being too far back to seem disinterested in the class. The perfect place to blend in. Was I overthinking this a little too much? Probably.

A girl who looked very bubbly walked in and sat down next to me. "You must be the new girl, Violet."

I nodded my head.

"Well, I'm Jessica," she said and held out her hand. I shook it and then faced forward to distract myself from my racing heart.

Did I shake her hand too long? Did I squeeze her hand too tight? Did I squeeze her hand enough?

As all these thoughts raced in my head, she continued talking. "So where you from, Violet?"

"Connecticut," I said quietly. I was never really good at small talk.

"Really?" she said a little shocked. "That's like really far away."

"Yeah, it is," I replied.

A girl with brown hair came walking in our direction. "You must be Violet Hewitt. My dad was telling me all about you and your dad this morning."

"You must be Bella," I said. It was nice to at least know her name; everyone seemed to know mine. She looked more like someone I'd talk to compared to Jessica, who was more intimidating in a way that was hard to describe.

After seeing Bella come over, Jessica slowly turned to talk to other friends.

"They can be a little intimidating with new people," Bella said a bit more quietly. "I moved in with my dad last year, and they all acted like vultures. It doesn't take them long to move on to the new exciting though."

I nodded slowly. It was reassuring that this wouldn't last too long.

"Sorry I didn't get the chance to meet you yesterday," she continued. "I was at Edward's house. You can meet him and his family at lunch if you want."

It was nice how casual she talked to me. It was easy being around her.

I nodded my head. "Yeah, it would be nice to know some people."

The teacher walked in then and started class.

I had a couple of classes with Bella, which was nice. The classes were pretty uneventful, which made lunch come slowly.

As me and Bella headed to the cafeteria, she prepared me for the rest of my classes. We grabbed some food and walked up to a small table that had three people sitting at it.

"This is Violet," she said as she sat down next to the boy with copper-colored hair. "This is Edward, my boyfriend, and that's Alice and Jasper. Rosalie and Emmett graduated last year."

I looked around the table, and my eyes landed on Jasper.

Holy shit. He's gorgeous.

Gorgeous wasn't the right word for it. He was . . . breath-taking.

Edward coughed a little, and I could see him smiling a little. I wonder what he's smiling at.

"Hi," I said. My heart was racing from meeting more new people. The group was a little intimidating. They all seemed so perfect. They looked like models, not high school students.

"Hello," Edward said. The group slowly started to talk about how their day has gone so far. Apparently, Alice was assigned a ten-page paper that was due at the end of the week. She sounded more annoyed than anything.

I noticed that their trays all were untouched in front of them, except for Bella. My tray was also untouched. I looked down at it and tried to focus on being hungry, but my thoughts were just racing. I know I should eat, but I feel like I could be sick. The thought of throwing up on my first day of school made me even more anxious. I tried to breathe through it.

In . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4

Out . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4

It didn't seem to do anything. I closed my eyes and tried again.

In . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4

Out . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4

I kept breathing like that until I felt a calming feeling come over me like a blanket. This felt different compared to how my anxiety normally feels when it stops.

I opened my eyes and looked down at my food. Maybe I could eat a little since I wasn't as anxious anymore. I put my head up and made eye contact with Jasper. We stared at each other for a second. He seemed to know how I was feeling. He gave a small smile and continued talking with his family.

I took a deep breath and slowly started to eat my lunch.