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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 her lungs as she dipped her head back under the shower head, the smell of her lavender shampoo lingering on her skin as it was washed from her hair. The house was dead silent, only sound coming from the bathroom upstairs. It was early afternoon on a Saturday. Both Danny and Ester were at work, Danny should be home very soon.

Liz spent most of her Saturday being lazy and thinking about Jasper non-stop. Their date ended all too quickly for her liking and even though Ester said ten was okay, Jasper did not want to upset Danny and they ended the date by nine. Though they did end up calling one another and talking until two in the morning, where Liz had fallen asleep while still on the phone. She woke to a text from Jasper. Just three words and they melted her heart.

    Sleep well, darling.

Liz has never felt this way before. With her ex, it was different. It was a crush, an infatuation. He had been older, handsome, charming and sweet. Liz liked him, but there was never any passion. She was comfortable with him. It was a dull attraction.

Not with Jasper, though. With him, it was different. This was a heavy, deep, sweet desire. She yearned to be near him, to touch him, to talk to him. There was so much passion between them, so much sensation, Liz does not understand how she has never felt it before until now.

Or maybe she had?

When she first met Jasper, he had been rude and nasty towards her. But she must admit that before she saw that side of him, she was very attracted to him. She felt a pull towards him, something she did not understand. The Cullen's were the talk of the school and admired for their mysterious ways.

But when he glared at her, flat out said he was not working on the project with her and walked out of the room in the middle of class to not only change the class, but every other class they shared, Liz's stubborn anger blinded that pull towards him.

She was so angry. She was nothing but nice to him and he just shut her down so quickly. Liz remembers for just a few minutes she questioned what she had done to upset him so much. It was two, maybe three minutes she started to blame herself until she completely shut down the thought. She knew for a fact she did absolutely nothing to warrant such hostile behavior. She had done nothing to him and he was just being a complete asshole.

It was his problem, she always used to tell herself. Now look at her? She was daydreaming about holding his hand and laying next to him again while in the shower. Now that she knows the truth about his hostility towards her in the beginning, she views it in a completely different light.

Liz found herself laughing at the irony as she turned off the shower and dried off. Wrapping her hair in the towel, she quickly got dressed in sweatpants and a black tank before making her way back towards her bedroom. She was re-adjusting the towel on her head when she passed the threshold and saw a figure standing by the window, peeking out of the curtain.

Liz let out a loud gasp, placing a hand over her heart. "Holy shit, Jasper! What the hell?"

Jasper looked over at the blonde with an amused glint in his eyes and smirked. "You should learn to lock your window, Liz. Anyone can just break in."

"This is Forks. The only ones I have to worry about are apparently creepy lurky vampires," Liz said, fighting back the tug on the corner of her lips to keep from smiling. Crossing her arms, met his golden eyes. "I was in the shower. What if I didn't change in the bathroom? What if I came in here wearing a towel?"

"Well, then I guess I would have gotten an interesting show." Liz's jaw dropped and she reached for a pillow on her bed and chucked it at him. He caught it with ease, chuckling at the feisty blonde. "Kidding. I am a gentleman, Liz Chambers. I would have apologized profusely for the invasion and left."

"Yes. A country gentleman, Jasper Hale. One of the many reasons why I like you," Liz mused. She is not exactly sure when they made it a habit of calling each other by their first and last names but Liz was not complaining about it one bit. "Do you do this a lot? Just let yourself into my room?"

Jasper huffed out a laugh. "No, don't worry. That is more Edward's territory. I try not to make it a habit like he does."

Liz knew all about Edward visiting Bella and watching her sleep. The brunette had told her the other day in school and Liz tried not to express how creepy she found that. "But you have done it before?"

Jasper turned completely from the window, his hands shoved deep into his pants pockets. "No. I've never entered before. But-"

Liz removed the towel on her head and moved towards her vanity to get her brush. "But?"

Jasper watched her intensely before moving towards the bed. Liz followed him, the two of them taking a seat on the edge, Liz completely forgetting about her hair and fiddled with the brush in her hands. "A few nights after you returned to Forks, Alice had a vision one night. Well, it wasn't exactly a vision because she didn't see anything. It was black and dark. But all she heard was screams." Jasper paused, looking over and meeting her gaze. "Your screams."

"She was worried, because she didn't know what was happening and since the visions she has of you are always delayed, she feared something horrible had already happened to you and came to me." Jasper's voice was soft, but she could hear every word. "I didn't even bother responding. I just ran. I came right here, outside your window to see you screaming and thrashing in your bed. Your sister had just arrived and Daniel was trying to wake you. You were having some kind of nightmare."

"Oh..." Liz mumbled, remembering that night vividly and had been thankful she hadn't endured something like that again. Clearing her throat, she brushed her wet hair behind her ear and avoided his gaze, though she could feel his eyes heavily on the side of her face. "I used to have night terrors when I was a kid. I can't tell you what they were about because I don't remember them but they started when I was really young, six years old, I believe. They didn't happen often but on occasion they would come. Lasted for four years, finally stopped when I was twelve or thirteen, don't remember exactly. After the accident, they came back, but this time I remember the dreams. They were of the accident. Of my mom calling out to me. Of the crashing and the screams of other passengers. And of the explosion. I can get so trapped in the dreams, it's almost impossible to wake me from them."

Jasper listened carefully to every word as Liz continued. "They had stopped for a few weeks before I moved back here. I thought I was finally free of them. But I think coming back to Forks, reconnecting with Ester and my friends and this town I grew up in, it triggered the memory again and another night terror."

"Have they happened again since?" Jasper questioned almost hesitantly.

Liz shook her head. "No, thank goodness. Or else I'd probably be moody all the time."

"I thought being moody was part of your personality?" He teased with that famous lopsided grin of his.

Liz faked a gasp and gently nudged him with her shoulder. He let her, the two bursting out laughing. Jasper felt strange, because he doesn't remember the last time he laughed or smiled this much. He meant what he said to her last night. He can't remember the last time he felt this happy. She makes him feel alive. She makes him feel whole.

What he didn't realize, Liz felt the exact same way. She hasn't felt truly happy or laughed this much in months.

"What are you doing here then if it isn't to sneak a peek like a perv?" Liz asked after the two calmed down, bringing the brush back to her knotted damp hair and carefully started the untangling process.

Jasper watched her, resisting the urge to run his fingers through her hair, and kept his hands tugged in his pants. He got up to put the distance between them, but just turned back towards the blonde. "Baseball."

Her brow rose. "Baseball?"

"There's a storm coming and Alice suggested we play a game of baseball. The family hasn't done it in a while and Edward wants to bring Bella so I figured you might want to go as well."

Liz had finished brushing out the knots and moved her long hair to the side of her shoulder, looking over at him curiously. "Vampires play baseball?"

Jasper grinned. "What else do we have to do with our life span?"

Liz pouted. "As much as I love baseball, I can't help but think that's going to be torture. I can't play because of my knee."

Jasper moved and knelt before her, taking her soft warm hand into his cold ones. "Darling, you wouldn't be able to play either way, with or without your injury. This is vampire baseball. It's very different."

"Still gonna suck being sidelined," Liz pointed out, but smiled nonetheless. "I'll go on two conditions."

His lopsided smirk was back. "And what are those conditions, m'lady?"

"First, if I'm going to watch you play ball, I'm expecting you to win. I don't cheer on losers."

The golden blonde vampire let out a deep chuckle. "I am on Rose's and Carlisle's team, so that shouldn't be an issue. And the second condition?"

Liz took a leap and placed her hands on his shoulders, slowly caressing his neck with her two thumbs. He stiffened but made no effort to move away from her touch, so she didn't pull away either. Just look him directly in the eyes with a beaming smile. "We better be running there."

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    𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍'𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐘 at the field, setting everything up. Edward and Bella had just arrived in Emmett's jeep, the storm slowly approaching, which means game time soon. Emmett was tossing the ball up in the air, while Carlisle and Esme talked to themselves with smiles on their faces. Alice was trying to talk Rosalie into being on her best behavior with both Bella and Liz.

They were all waiting on the last member of the family and his human, as Rosalie kindly likes to call both Liz and Bella. They all stop and turn when they hear manic laughter coming from the distance. The six vampires on the field turn just as Jasper finally joins the others with a giggling blonde hanging tightly to his back.

"Crazy! You are absolutely crazy, Liz Chambers." Jasper claims with a ridiculous smile on his lips, carefully setting the blonde down on her feet as she tries to sober up. Her side was aching from all the laughter and her face was bright red. She looked like a lunatic but Liz did not care at that moment. She didn't even care that everyone was staring at her, giving them both strange looks, seeing as Jasper's own laughter could not be contained.

Alice moves towards her best friend and elbows him in the side. "Never call a woman crazy, Jazz."

"No. He's- he's a hundred percent accurate," Liz managed to say between breaths, trying so hard to calm down.

Jasper shook his head. "She's been like this since we left her house."

Emmett came over to the Chambers girl and wrapped his enormously large arm over her shoulder. "Mind cluing us in, speed racer?"

Liz casually wrapped her arms around Emmett to give a tight hug in greeting. She shook her head, brushing the strains of hair hanging out of her ponytail out of her face. "Nothing, it's just... the reality of everything suddenly hit me. My mind kind of registered that I was about to go watch a bunch of vampires play baseball and the fact that this is my new normal just took me by surprise, but in a good way."

The Cullen's found themselves smiling or chuckling, realizing that the Chambers female had a point. Never in all their years have they thought their secret would be shared with humans, let alone two of their own would find their mates to be humans. Crazier things have happened, though.

"This is why you are my favorite human," Emmett admitted, holding out his hand for a high five which Liz accepted. He then slings his arm around her shoulders, bringing her in for a hug, Liz wrapping her arms around his waist in return, Emmett then looks over to the other other human/vampire couple and smirks at the brunette standing by his Jeep. "No offense, Bells."

Bella only shrugged. "Apparently everyone thinks I offend easily."

"If it makes you feel better, Bella, you are my favorite human." Liz smiled teasingly at her friend who just rolled her eyes.

"Thanks Liz, I feel very special."

"As you should."

Jasper came up and pulled Liz out from Emmett's hold, bringing his lips to her ear. "If you are uncomfortable, we can leave."

Liz blinked up at him. He was only a couple inches taller than her but she loved that. She has always been considered tall and though it had its advantages with track or any sport really, she liked that Jasper was just a little taller than her. It will make kissing him easier and more romantic, whenever that time may come. Liz isn't denying she hopes it's soon, but she refuses to push him.

    When he's comfortable, it will happen. She told herself.

"I never said I was uncomfortable," she whispers back to him, though it was pointless given her company. "In fact, I've never been more content."

Jasper leans down and softly presses a kiss to her forehead, when Rosalie snapped from what looks like home plate. "Did we come here to stand around all night or are we going to play?"

Jasper rolls his eyes before going over to Rose, taking one of the bats and tossing it to her, which she catches. Bella and Liz move back, Esme coming up and linking both of their arms with hers. "Glad you girls are here. We need an umpire."

"She thinks we cheat." Emmett comments.

"I know you cheat," Esme says with a hint of amusement.

"I know nothing about being an umpire," Bella mumbles shyly. Liz's grin widened.

"I do." Liz expressed a little too enthusiastically. "Don't worry, Esme. No one is cheating on my watch."

The beautiful brunette smiled warmly at the blonde. "Counting on you, Liz. Call them as you see them, girls."

Everyone went to take their places. Esme stayed behind home plate as the catcher, Emmett and Edward going out into the outfield with Alice who took place as pitcher. Jasper, Rosalie and Carlisle lined up to bat.

Liz linked her arm through Bella, the brunette looking over at her friend nervously. "I know nothing about baseball."

"All we are doing is watching home plate. If the player gets to it before the catcher gets the ball, they are safe. If the catcher gets the ball, they have to touch the base or the player before that player touches the plate. If they do, they are out."

Carlisle was standing near the girls and smiled. "How many sports did you actually play, Liz?"

"For real or just for fun?" She asked the doctor, who just chuckled at her response, taking that as answer enough.

Not even a moment later, lightning strikes high in the sky and Alice lifts her head. "It's time."

Rosalie was up to bat first and Liz was not at all prepared from when Alice pitched the ball to Rosalie hitting it with so much force, the sound matched the roaring thunder that boomed overhead. The two human girls shared a wide eyed look, Bella letting out a chuckle to Esme. "Okay, now I see why you need the thunder."

Liz was trying to pick her jaw up off the floor when Rosalie took off and the ball completely disappeared from view, Edward chasing after it. Bella seemed to be less in shock of how amazing that seriously was. "That's gotta be a homerun, right?"

Esme shook her head slightly. "Edward's very fast."

Before the girls knew it, the ball was thrown back and in Esme's hands just as Rosalie slid to home plate. Esme touched Rosalie just in time and the three girls looked back at Liz, who finally was able to shake her head out of her shocked state and cleared her throat. "Uh, you're out."

"Out! Woah!" Emmett cheered from out in the field. Rosalie sent him a sharp look. "Babe, come on. It's just a game."

Rosalie got up reluctantly, while glaring hard at both Liz and Bella, snarling at the human girls before walking off. Liz felt the hostility and resentment, and remembered how hard Rosalie was taking their presence and tried not to let it upset her too much. She hates that Emmett's girlfriend- or wife? Liz honestly wasn't one hundred present sure, but she hates how much Rosalie dislikes her. At least she wasn't alone. Rosalie hates Bella just as much.

Liz looked over at Esme and grinned. "That was the best thing I've ever seen."

Carlisle was up to bat, and just like before, thunder cracked when the bat met the ball, sending it soaring through the air. Both Emmett and Edward tried catching it together, flying through the air and winding up crashing into one another, missing the ball completely. Carlisle got the homerun, as the two brothers in the field laughed and pushed each other off.

Liz watched Jasper intently as he stepped up to base, twirling the bat in his hands. The Chambers female leaned into Bella. "Damn the batter is really hot. Think I have a shot?"

Both Bella and Esme snorted as Jasper sent a look over his shoulder, giving the girl a wink while Liz returned with a mischievous grin. "Hey, batter! Remember my condition. I don't cheer for losers."

His head was turned away from her but she noticed the way he shook his head. "How about you stop distracting me, Liz Chambers, so I can concentrate?"

"Lips are sealed, Jasper Hale. Swing straight."

Before she knew it, Jasper swung the bat and the ball was once again flying through the air, but Emmett caught it with ease, getting Jasper out. Liz cocked her head to the side as said male walked towards her with a narrowed look. "You know that was your fault, right?"

Liz smirked. "I thought vampires were supposed to be super aware with heightened skills? You mean to tell me a little teasing is a result of your poor batting skills?"

"Yeah, you tell him, speed racer!" Emmett called out, earning chuckles from the rest of the group as Jasper went to the side and suddenly Rosalie was back to bat.

Rosalie barely made it halfway around the bases when Alice called out in alarm. "Stop!"

The Cullen's all froze, looking in the direction deep into the woods. Both Bella and Liz were looking at the family in confusion, when Liz felt someone grab her arm and was suddenly pulled away from Bella and into someone's arms. Jasper's arms. He was holding her tightly, his eyes wide and panicked. The rest of the family were surrounding the two humans, Edward instantly at Bella's side.

"They were leaving. Then they heard us." Alice says, mostly to both Edward and Jasper.

"Let's go," Edward says stiffly to Bella.

"It's too late," Carlisle informs both his sons.

Jasper was pressing Liz close to his body, looking out towards woods where they had come from. "Jasper," Edward is the one to call his brother. "Carlisle's right. They'll smell her and follow her scent."

Liz was flabbergasted, not at all understanding what exactly was happening. Clearly Edward read Jasper's mind, because Jasper loosened his grip on her arm only slightly. Edward turned towards Bella while Jasper addressed Liz.

"No matter what, do not leave my side. Not even for a second," Jasper said through gritted teeth, his golden eyes staring down intensely at her.

Her heart was hammering and Liz forced herself to gulp. "What's happening?"

"Just do as I say." His tone was firm and strict, not leaving room for argument. He started playing with her hair, bringing her bushy curls over her shoulder to cover her neck. The look in his eyes was a bit frightening. So that is why she allowed him to mess with her hair and to shove her behind him while keeping a tight grip on her arm. Liz took a fist hold of the back of Jasper's shirt, keeping her head down, only slightly looking up. That is when she saw them.

Vampires. Three of them. They have to be. She has only seen the Cullens move that gracefully and look that hauntingly beautiful. It was hard for Liz to really get a good look at them, but as they continued to approach the group, something terrifying caught the blonde's attention. Their eyes.

They were red.

Everyone positioned themselves in front of the two girls, going to meet the new group. Liz and Bella were on opposite ends, both girls stiff as boards. Liz tightened her grip on Jasper's shirt, letting out slow and steady breaths in hopes of not causing too much attention.

"I believe this belongs to you." The one in the middle- dark skin, long dreadlocks- says, holding up the baseball. He then throws it back, which Carlisle catches with ease.

"Thank you."

"I am Laurent," the vampire in the middle introduces himself. "And this is Victoria and James."

Liz looked between the two others. The red haired vampire was stunning, no surprise there. James, the blonde, is the one who made her skin crawl. He examined each and every one of Cullen's slowly and carefully, his crimson eyes lingering on both Liz and Bella when they landed on them.

Carlisle was doing a good job at trying to keep the peace. "I'm Carlisle. This is my family."

Laurent bowed his head. "Hello."

"I'm afraid your hunting activities have caused something of a mess for us," Carlisle keeps the harmless conversion going.

"Our apologies. We didn't realize the territory had been claimed."

"Yes, well, we maintain a permanent residence nearby."

"Really?" Laurent sounds genuinely surprised, looking over to his friend who kept staring at Edward and then darting his sharp gaze to Jasper. Whenever he did so, Liz felt Jasper's hold tighten, but she refused to tell him it was kind of hurting her. It wasn't too bad. Liz knows it could be so much worse. "Well, we won't be a problem anymore. We were just passing through."

"The humans were tracking us but we led them east," Victoria informs the Cullen's. "You should be safe."

Carlisle nodded appreciatively. "Excellent."

"So, could you use three more players?" Laurent laughs. Liz noticed the other's looked to Carlisle, everyone besides Jasper and Edward. They were both staring sharply at the blonde vampire across from them. "Come on. Just one game."

"Sure. Why not? A few of us were leaving. You could take their place. We'll bat first."

Carlisle tossed the ball back to Laurent, but it was the redhead vampire who caught it and smirked. "I'm the one with the wicked curve ball."

"Well I think we can handle that," Emmett mused, causing the other two vampires to laugh in pleasure. Both Laurent and Victoria turned and moved out towards the field, neither realizing their friend lingering, tilting his head at Edward in particular before shifting towards Jasper. It was only for a few seconds before James finally went to follow the other two.

A naive part of Liz started to think that maybe she and Bella would be able to make it out of here undetected. That maybe their hair and being close to Jasper and Edward was doing a good job at masking their scents. She thought they would make it out alive. Until the wind blew, which only proved Liz's thought was indeed naive hope.

James inhaled deeply, his eyes darkening and turning back towards the group. "You brought snacks."

Everything was happening so quickly. Liz was being pushed back behind all of the Cullen's as well as Bella. The two girls reached out and took hold of each other's hands, breathing heavily as her heart started racing. Hissing sounded as Laurent and Victoria joined James, hunger now in their eyes once they smelled the humans in the other coven's possessions.

"The girls are with us," Carlisle informs the three. "I think it best if you leave."

Liz caught Victoria's hard cold stare and for some strange reason, Liz knew what it meant. The redhead was claiming her while James took Bella. Liz felt sick to her stomach, utter terror of how exactly this could play out taking over her mindset. She could feel herself starting to tremble, but she did her best to keep from showing how truly terrified she was.

"I can see the game is over." Laurent, who seemed to be more confused then triggered by thirst like the other two, spoke calmly. He started slowly backing up, hands held out to state he meant no harm and sending a harsh look to his coven mate. "James."

James shifted his eyes between both Edward and Jasper before finally backing off. Victoria peeled her sharp gaze off of Liz and turned, walking closely with James who wrapped his arms around her. The three ran off in the direction from where they came from.

"Get Bella and Liz out of here," Carlisle tells both his sons. "Go."

Jasper was stiff, staring off to where the three vampires disappeared. It wasn't until Emmett started pushing him back when he finally snapped out of it. He walked right towards the frightened blonde, taking her hand in his and leading her towards Emmett's jeep, along with Edward and Bella. Their speed started to pick up and soon they were running towards it. Liz's knee started screaming at her in agony.

"Jasper! My knee. Jasper! I can't run-" Her cries were cut off with Jasper scooping her up into his arms and carried her towards the jeep. Edward gets Bella into the passenger's seat where they argue about the seat belt as Jasper places Liz in the back, the blonde silently getting in and scooting over as Jasper hopped in beside her.

"What, now he's coming after us?" Bella frets, looking towards Edward who stomps on the gas pedal. Edward had the ignition on and his foot slammed against the petal now even a second, getting as far away from the field as they could possibly get.

He didn't respond for a long while, neither did Jasper. Liz was frozen, stunned by the events that just occurred. Jasper finally looked towards her, sensing the worry radiating from her and he didn't need his gift to tell him how frightened she was. The look on her face gave that away easily enough.

He reached out to touch her but hesitated. Liz, noticing his hand reaching out, immediately grabs it and moves as close as she could towards him. His arms were around her instantly as she rested her head against his chest. "Can you both please tell us what is going to happen now?"

Jasper met Edward's gaze through the rear view mirror and nodded stiffly. Edward sparing a look at Bella, his grip so tight on the wheel Liz was surprised he hadn't ripped it straight off. "Listen to me. James is a tracker. The hunt is his obsession. I read his mind. Our reactions set him off."

"His emotions were foul," Jasper spat out, venom lacing his words. "They were malicious and unpleasant."

"We just made this his most exciting game ever. He's never going to stop." Edward tells the three of them. Liz looked up and stared at Jasper's face. His expression was hard and distant. Edward's words did not help either. Only made him anxious with fear and worry more than Liz has ever seen before.

"What should we do?" Bella asked.

"We have to kill him," Edward says without hesitation. "Rip him apart and burn the pieces."

"Good plan," Liz nodded, looking between the brothers anxiously. "I like that plan. What about us? Where are we going?"

"Away from Forks." Jasper answers.

Edward nodded in agreement. "We'll get a ferry to Vancouver."

"What?" Liz examined, pulling away from Jasper. "We can't just leave!"

"I have to go home. Now." Bella tells Edward. "Liz is right, we can't just leave. You have to take us both home."

"You can't go home. Neither of you can. He's gonna trace your scents there. It's the first place he's gonna look."

Liz felt suffocated in this vehicle all of a sudden, her wide blue eyes darting towards the vampire next to her. "But Ester and Danny are there!"

"But my dad is there-" Bella argues at the exact same time.

"It doesn't matter!"

"Like hell it doesn't!" Liz yells at the driver. "They could get killed because of us. Take us home! Now!"

"No!" Jasper snaps, Liz's gaze darting back to him. "He's after you both. You two are the ones in danger."

"Let's just get you two out of here first, alright?"

Bella shook her head. "It's my dad. We have to go back."

"I won't let my sister or Danny or Bella's father to be collateral damage in this shit." Liz continued to argue, ignoring the pain in her knee.

"We'll find a why to lead the tracker away somehow," Bella says breathlessly. "I don't know. But we have to do something!"

The Jeep shook wildly as Edward drove, both brother's becoming silent, the only sound that could be heard was the heavy rain pounding against the vehicle. Neither Jasper nor Edward liked this, but they knew neither girl was going to go quietly with the risk of their loved ones being in any danger.

Jasper is the one to break the silence first. "Drop us off at Liz's house before going straight to Bella's. We'll meet you back at the house." He told Edward who did not bother with a response. Jasper turned his gaze back to the woman at his side. "Do you have a plan?"

Liz swallowed hard, realizing how dry her throat was and let out a deep breath. "Not exactly. But I do have a favor I need to cash in. I just hope Ester remembers it."

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I think this is the shortest chapter I've written for this story in a while.

Love Liz teasing Jasper, I think that's my favorite part in this whole chapter. Then Jasper becoming protective of her and not letting her go.

Only four more chapters in I've complete Twilight!

Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoy!