POV Seraphina

I sat with Aaron and Micah in my familiar place at the canteen and tried to draw something in peace.
Like every break, I felt Jasper's eyes on me and tried to skillfully ignore them.
It was getting harder and harder to stand up to Jasper with each passing day, and I slowly began to wonder if this was really the right path.

Tensely, I continued to work on my sketch, only casually listening to Aaron complaining about a group project he wasn't interested in.
"And I have to sacrifice my free time for it", he finished and I looked pityingly in his direction.
I knew how much Aaron hated group work, especially when he wanted absolutely nothing to do with the people like in this case.

"I haven't had any group projects yet", I said after a moment's thought and closed my pad carefully.
"Well then you can look forward to something, that's hell", Aaron said immediately and read through his group assignment in frustration.
I quickly got wind of the fact that a certain 'Jessica' was trying to get his attention the whole time.

Of course Aaron didn't want to have anything to do with her, but that didn't stop her from trying. That's exactly why she's been watching Aaron like an eagle since we sat down at our place in the canteen.
Even though I had made it very clear to her that Aaron and I had nothing going on except maybe sarcasm and dumb remarks, she seemed jealous of me. 
That would add one more person to my list of 'who was jealous of me', except this time it wasn't because of Jasper, it was because of Aaron.

"My group work has always gone well so far", Micah intervened and looked at Aaron, who had put the paper back on the table.
"You could always do the jobs in your lesson and didn't have to do anything outside of it", Aaron said immediately and Micah just shrugged his shoulders.

"Now dear sister of mine, how long do you think it will take Hale to understand that you don't magically turn around because of his staring gaze?", Micah asked now interested and a grin adorned his lips.
I looked at him annoyed and rolled my eyes.
Aaron looked at the Cullens table and was probably staring at Jasper, who turned away from me as I couldn't feel his eyes on me anymore.

"I swear to god if Goldilocks gets too close I'll give him hell", Aaron said darkly as he looked back at us again.
His statement sent a queasy feeling through my stomach and I got the urge to defend Jasper again.
"Leave him alone Aaron. I'm already ignoring him there isn't much else to do now", I said annoyed and put my pad away because the break was over in a few minutes.

"Well then Mr. Grumpy, have fun with your group project", I said with a wry grin and then walked out of the cafeteria with Micah in tow, since he also had a free period.

"Tell me, what's on your mind", Micah interrupted the comfortable silence of the library and I looked up from my sketch in confusion.
His blue eyes watched me intensely and he seemed to be waiting for some kind of confession.
"What do you mean?", I asked a little uncomfortably, hoping he wouldn't ask too much.

"Lately you've been so... distracted", he tried to find the right word and then looked at me thoughtfully, "why is that?"
I eyed him for a while and then shrugged, "I do have daydreams now and then, didn't know it was that bad."
I tried to get through with the 'act dumb' tactic but I Just knew that Micah could read me even better than Aaron and only held back a lot more.

He chuckled softly and shook his head.
Again he looked at me with his arms crossed and then said, "of course not, but there's something else. Something's bothering you? You know you can talk to me about anything, I'm your brother and you know my mouth is sealed."
With a slight sigh, I let my shoulders sag a little and told him about my worries.

"It's Jasper... I have a constant pull towards him and my feelings go wild when he's around. He was worried about my arm and... god I just don't know what I  should do", I began to talk and Micah listened to me carefully, "it feels so right when he's around and whenever I give him a run for it or he's further away from me, I feel something piercing my heart."

A sad laugh escaped me and I looked down at the table in front of me, a little embarrassed, "I know that sounds completely crazy, but it is true."
I heard a chair squeak and Micah sat next to me.
He put an arm around my shoulder and I leaned my head onto his shoulder.
"I'm really sorry that the whole thing is stressing you out so much, Phina. I wish I could help you with that, but it's up to you how you deal with it", Micah explained to me softly and I felt him softly stroking his hand through my hair.

"Remember Phina, you are the only one who decides what to do next, no one else", Micah assured me and I looked up at him again.
Immediately I thought of Aaron and how he specifically told me that it was better to stay away from everyone so we could protect our secret.
"But what about Aaron...", I began, Micah interrupting me almost immediately with a laugh, "since when do you listen to Aaron sis?"
The corners of my mouth twitched up slightly and I had to admit that there was something to it.

"We don't know the Cullens, so we can't judge them either. Yes, of course it would be safer if we stayed away from everyone, but where's the fun in that?", he asked me now with a playful glint in his eyes I knew all too well.
"Thanks Micah", I said quickly hugging him.
"Not for this Phina, that goes without saying", he answered immediately and gave me a cheeky wink.

I spent the remaining hours pondering about Micah's words.
I didn't want to put Jasper in any danger, but I longed to get to know him.
Of course, the mission was paramount, but we were not forbidden to make friends, but to adapt.

I continued to brood as I walked to my final class.
I sat in the back of my seat and unpacked my biology book that was buried under two other books.
"Hey Sera, how are you?", Alice sat down next to me and looked at me a bit worried, "Jasper said you had an injured arm and was over the moon."

I looked at her in shock when she mentioned Jasper, then cleared my throat quickly to hide the slight blush on my face.
"It was just a minor accident, nothing serious", I said quickly looking ahead again, but couldn't concentrate as my mind was on Jasper.
It almost made me happy that he had talked about me and was so worried even though I was still giving him the cold shoulder. 

At the same time I was extremely sorry and I really wanted to apologize to him, but I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it.
I'd resisted him for so long, should I really just drop my wall like that?
Still, I really wanted to know what Jasper had said about me, maybe he was slowly losing interest in me, even though I felt a pain in my chest at the thought.

"Then what did Jasper say?", I asked softly in her direction, hoping I didn't come across as too interested.
Alice giggled softly and then looked at me with a big smile, "he couldn't stop talking about you, you should have seen him!"

I listened intently to Alice and my heart started pounding a few beats faster as she told me all about Jasper.

"That's it for today! But I still have an important announcement for next week!", our biology teacher called out at the end of the lesson and everyone waited anxiously for his announcement.
"We're going on a little trip to a greenhouse with another class on Thursday!", he beamed and a few cheered loudly as it meant the rest of our classes would be cancelled.

"Ohh, how exciting!", Alice laughed and we packed up our things.
"See you tomorrow", I said to Alice waving goodbye as I walked over to Aaron who was already waiting in front of my class.

We met Micah on the way to the exit and apparently he was in the other class my biology teacher mentioned.
"Hell I'm so glad I don't have to watch my teacher fawn over compost and mud", Aaron laughed at us as we walked through the parking lot.
I knew from the start that a comment like this would come, so I quickly bit back, "at least we don't have to work on boring group projects like your sorry ass!"

Immediately, a heated conversation between Aaron and I sparked that consisted of sarcasm and stupid remarks like there was no tomorrow.
"Thats the biggest lie i've ever heard in my entire life", I argued instantly back and crossed my arms in front of my chest when Aaron claimed he could easily beat me at my favorite game.
"Oh shut up I've already beat you in that one, nothing new", he claimed  while shrugging his shoulders and walked on.

"Yeah cause you cheated!", I immediately accused him and gazed to Micah for support, "she got you there."
"Oh shut up. You two are ganging up on me", he exclaimed while shaking his head and put his bag in the trunk.
"I'm just saying", I smiled in victory and could see Aaron roll his eyes slightly as he realized he kinda lost that round.

"No you're not", he kept our discussion going and Micah just looked at us both in amusement but didn't say anything.
All of a sudden we realized that we had probably attracted a little more attention and especially the Cullens were looking at us in amusement, whereupon Aaron of course looked annoyed in their direction.

"Let's settle with temporary peace", Aaron offered after he finished shooting the Cullens with his gaze.
"Alright", I gave in and had to hold back a laugh that almost slipped out.
With one last look towards Jasper who had also noticed the whole thing and gave me a gentle smile, I quickly got into the car. 
My heart immediately started beating faster when I thought of him and a sincere smile spread across my face.