POV Jasper

Confused, I stared at the now empty seat across from me, trying to process what had just happened.
My brain and thoughts still hung onto Seraphina, who was laughing with me just moments earlier. Her beautiful laughter warmed my ice cold heart and immediately I felt a little more alive.
Still, her last words echoed in my head as I thought about the end of our conversation and questionmarks appeared in my line of thinking.

'I should keep my distance?'
Shouldn't I say that to her?

Her smell slowly dissipated and I looked down sadly.
My instinct told me to follow her and made her understand that whatever it was, I could handle it.
I should show her that I could protect her and reveal myself to prove my words, but that would be too early.
One thing was definitely clear to me; she was hiding something and didn't want anyone to know.

I stood up tensely and when I turned around I saw Alice, who could probably make out my pained look and hugged me immediately.
"Don't worry Jas, it'll be fine", she said encouragingly and accompanied me out of the library.

Nervous I stood next to Edward's car, which I was going to ride in, and watched Seraphina walk across the parking lot.
Of course Aaron was glued next to her and the blonde, whose name I heard was Micah, sauntered behind them.

"The three of them just blew up in gym. You should have seen that! I've never seen anyone keep up with me, but damn they're really good at it", Emmett talked in the background about his gym class he had with the three of them.

Seraphina's gaze swept over the crowd once and then stayed on me.
I waved at her with hope, but she quickly turned her head away as if she didn't want to see me.
Disappointed I dropped my hand again and felt my siblings eyes on me.
"Jasper come on", Edward said and I got into his car, my mind still on Seraphina.

How could I possibly convince my mate that she was safe with me? 
What exactly was she trying so incredibly hard to hide? 
Did that put her in danger?

Within a second my hands gripped the seat of Edward's car, realizing that she might be in danger. 
My jaw clenched and I swallowed hard as I struggled for control.
"Relax Jasper everything is fine", Edward tried to calm me down after sitting in the drivers seat next to me, "I'm sure that we'll find out everything important as soon as the time is right."

I quickly regained complete control and looked down with a sigh so I didn't have to meet Edward's eyes.
"He's back right?", Edward asked cautious and I just nodded in slight shame.
I was so sure that I was finally rid of him, but then he came back just as the best thing of my life was happening right in front of me.

"He might be back, but he's only ever showing himself when it's about your mate. He want's to protect her as much as you do", he told me and put a hand on my shoulder.
I just nodded my thanks for his words and continued to stare down. 
Edward was right in his observation, yes the Major was definitely back because of Seraphina, but I didn't know how to deal with that. 
It was already difficult to let Seraphina in on our secret, but how should I teach her about the Major?

I sat blankly on the couch in the living room, staring into nothing.
Ever since Seraphina disappeared from the parking lot, my undead heart had longed for her. I longed for her scent and especially her presence.
I didn't expect my desire to be so strong after less than a day and it already tore me up.

We waited for Carlisle to tell him about Seraphina and her two companions.
My siblings would talk about what made the 3 so different and how it could even be possible, but I couldn't think straight and think about something like that.
Even at home I was tense and just couldn't find any rest.
My mind was constantly circling around Seraphina and even Edward looked slightly tense as he just couldn't block out my 'loud thoughts' as he put it.

Plus, I guess I wasn't in control of my gift, which was another reason why Edward in particular was tense. 
I seemed to project my feelings onto my immediate surroundings. On top of that I was torn, which is why my emotions fluctuated wildly and I just wasn't able to steady them.
With a sigh, I looked at Alice who had sat next to me and rested my head on her shoulder.

I closed my eyes and wished from the bottom of my heart that my head was resting on Seraphina's shoulder and she was stroking my hair.
Her delicate hands would slide through my blond curls and she would have a gentle smile on her face that was only meant for me. She might talk about something she enjoyed and wanted to share with me since she felt comfortable around me.
These thoughts distracted me a bit from my current situation and I thoroughly enjoyed the idea behind it. 
I embraced these thoughts and was able to relax a little.

Alice suddenly tensed up next to me and I immediately raised my head to look at her. Her eyes widened slightly and her mouth hung open a crack.
She must be having one of her visions and I was almost curious what she saw in the future.
Edward noticed this immediately and eyed Alice intently until a smile crept onto his lips.

Sometimes I wish I could read minds too but Edward assured me that most of the time it's not as great as some people may think. 
Normally, my gift gave me almost as much insight into a person as his, but of course that wasn't the case with Alice's visions.

"What did you see?", Rosalie now asked interested and everyone waited spellbound for her answer.
A mysterious smile crept onto her lips and she immediately looked at me.
"I saw it Jas, she will be with you", she said cheerfully, giving me a quick hug.
The others almost cheered as well and a barely visible smile crept onto my lips at the thought of holding her in my arms.

"And why did you suddenly had a vision of her? You didn't had a vision of her arrival either", Rosalie asked confused and Alice shrugged her shoulders, "it's not from her perspective but from Jaspers."
Alice once told me that while her visions came randomly, she was also able to trigger them. She only had to focus on one person and then she was able to catch a glimpse of their future. 
It didn't always work out, of course, but Alice had gotten a lot better at it now, as she cheerfully told me.

"Who didn't you have a vision of?", asked suddenly Carlisle, who probably entered the living room and gave us a questioning look.
"Jasper found his soulmate", Alice said quickly, his eyes darting to mine.
A big smile graced his face and he nodded proudly at me.
"I'm so happy for you Jasper, you deserve this more than anyone", Carlisle said proudly in my direction and I gave him a nod of thanks.

We explained to Carlisle that the three new students were different and our gifts had no effect on them.
The strangest thing however, was that we couldn't clearly smell her scent.  Never before has a human's scent been veiled with such almost intentional intent.
Such a case could be dismissed as a possible gift, but that all 3 of them got the same features was extremely weird and alarming.
That Alice now had a vision of her was a pleasant surprise however, and Carlisle listened to us intently.

"Something is definitely different about the three of them, that's clear. Unfortunately, I can't think of anything that would go with them", Carlisle admitted and looked at us thoughtfully.
Carlisle had seen and learned quite a few things in his lifetime, but it worried me even more that he had no idea what secret Seraphina might be keeping.

"And what exactly did she say to you Jasper?", he asked me directly and I swallowed hard, right before I looked at him.
"She said it was complicated and that it would be better if I kept my distance from her", I said quietly, looking down adly.

I sat in my room and stared through the window at the dark forest surrounding our house.
The moon was still up in the sky, illuminating it.
A few stars could be seen occasionally, but unfortunately it was not a particularly clear night.

My longing for Seraphina was already immense and I couldn't wait to see her again tomorrow.
I've even caught myself thinking of trailing her scent in the middle of the night just to make sure she's really okay and to breathe in her soothing scent.
Of course I wouldn't show myself, but I would watch over her and make sure she was safe.

Carlisle had explained to me that our bond would only grow stronger over time. 
And since we hadn't had much contact, it would be especially difficult for me.
It's unclear exactly how I would react to it as everyone was different, but I had to hold back as much as I could.
He knew just how much this separation from Seraphina hurt me, but there was nothing I could do right now.

At home, I didn't smell other people's scents at least and was able to relax a little more, but inside school, it was a completely different story.
If I didn't know any better I'd say Aaron definitely had something to do with Seraphina keeping her distance from me.
Just thinking about this Aaron made me grind my teeth.

How dare he keep MY Seraphina away from me.

I gritted my teeth at my table during the break and watched Seraphina sit between Aaron and Micah yet again.
Her slim figure had her back turned to me and made no attempt to move even remotely close in my direction. 
I never thought I would seek someone's attention as much as I did hers.

"Looks like you got a total rebuff", Emmett teased, immediately earning a low growl from me, which I guess he wasn't expecting.
Ever since Seraphina suddenly avoided me and I could only give her longing looks from afar, Emmett tried everything to piss me off.
Alice quickly put a hand on my shoulder, "calm down Jasper."

Every time I wanted to talk to her or saw her in the hallway, Aaron would suddenly appear and steer her away from me.
She was almost guarded by the two of them and I didn't get a chance to talk to her for even a second.
For days I tried in vain to talk to her and get closer to her but even during the lessons we had together she seemed to avoid me at all cost.

So I could only brood and stare at her from across the room.
She seemed tense as well, but since my gift wasn't working on her, I couldn't tell how she was feeling either, and that frustrated me even more.

Each day was getting harder and my control to visit her at night was slowly fading, since the urge to see her and have her close by was growing with every passing day.
By now I was almost grateful to be able to see her at school, since I would have her scent at least for a while around and I could fulfill my urge to protect her, even if unsatisfactorily.