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ONCE IN A BLUE MOON
𝓻𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓱𝓸𝓸𝓴

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"SO YOU HAVE A THING FOR OLDER MEN?" Emmett asked rather confused and innocently, not getting what Luna was talking about.

"No. Just because I love RDJ doesn't mean I have a thing for older men." Luna said, slightly tired of going in circles with Emmett on their recent topic which was about Robert Downey Jr.

"But you're dating Jasper, aren't you?" Emmett said.

The two were the only ones in the living room. Emmett was keeping Luna company while Jasper was in the kitchen, making Luna churros with melted chocolate as he did before. Luna said she'll make it herself, but Jasper insisted she relax there. He was babying her a little too much.

"That's actually a good point." Luna said, looking past Emmett's shoulder as she thought of how she really does have a thing for older men.

"I'm not that old." Jasper stated when he appeared in the living room with a tray of churros and melted chocolates.

Luna's mood lightened up even more at the scent of the newly cooked churros and seeing the crispy golden brown color of them made her want to jump Jasper and hug him really tight as she thanks him.

"Really? How old are you?"

"Nineteen."

"How long have you been nineteen?"

"A while."

Jasper kept avoiding the real answer and simply gave short and half-true ones. She already knew the answer considering his memories replayed in her mind back then. But Luna couldn't focus on arguing with Jasper on that one because she was too concentrated on the plate of churros before her.

She took one and she felt its warmth. It wasn't too hot that would burn her fingertips. It had the right amount of warmth that she could just take one and dip it on the chocolate before taking a bite.

"Oh my God!" Luna squealed too loudly making the two boys flinch at the volume of her voice.

The explosion of flavor in her mouth was so good, she couldn't contain the series of reactions and expressions that she had given.

"Calm down, woman!" Emmett joked.

Luna shot him a look and screamed at the top of her lungs to annoy Emmett. But with a voice as loud as hers, Emmett wasn't the only one whose eardrums are being smashed into pieces. The rest of the Cullens couldn't help but flinch and grimace at the sound of Luna's shout.

Jasper, whose face was contorted into a pained one, quickly reached over to Luna and placed a hand over her mouth. Her shout was now muffled but still bothering.

"Darlin', I must say, you are glowing with beauty." Jasper said.

It was a tactic to make the raven-haired girl calm down from her psycho stage but it didn't make it any less true. She is glowing with beauty, much more in Jasper's eyes.

The tactic worked and Luna finally stopped screaming. Pinkish splotches tinted the girl's cheeks as a small, sheepish smile tugged on her lips.

"Really?" She said through Jasper's hand over her mouth.

Jasper finally retrieved his hand and smiles at the girl. The girl's smile suddenly dropped when she realized something Jasper didn't want her to notice.

"You just did that to stop me from screaming, didn't you?" Luna asked with her one eyebrow raised.

"Pretty much. But it doesn't what I said wasn't true." Jasper replied, looking at her cautiously, hoping that she wouldn't lose control again.

"Hmm. Well played." Luna simply said before she continues to munch on the churros, much to Jasper and Emmett's relief.

The silence in the room only went on for a few seconds before Carlisle came into view when he walked in with a rather trouble expression.

"Have you seen the news?" Carlisle asked them.

Luna continued to enjoy her food while Jasper and Emmett looked at their foster father in confusion before one of them spoke.

"No. Why?" Emmett asked.

Carlisle didn't answer. Instead, he went to sit beside Luna and grabbed the remote to switch on the TV, immediately shifting to the news channel where it showed information about the recent disappearances in Seattle.

Luna averted her eyes from her churros and focused it on the TV, as did the others.

"Seattle is in a state of terror. Police are baffled by the escalating murders and disappearances. Theories ranged from a vicious new gang to a wildly active serial killer. Reporting live, Dawn Chubai. CNN." reported the newscaster from the TV.

Just as the four of them were immersed in gathering information from the relatively enlightening reporter on the TV, Edward and Bella walked in.

"It's getting worse. We're going to have to do something." Carlisle said as he turned off the TV, letting their gazes turn to the couple who just walked.

"It takes more than one of our kind to cause the damage they're reporting. Quite a few more. They're undisciplined, conspicuous..." Jasper explained, his gaze hardening as he looked at Edward with flashes of memories popping into the honey-blonde vampire's mind.

"It's Newborns." Said Edward.

Luna completely abandoned the churros, losing all appetite as she gazed at her lover, seeing how troubled and skeptical he looked.

"What, like new vampires?" Bella asked.

"No, Bella. Vampires that just got out of the holy vaggie-boo." Luna said sarcastically after rolling her eyes. "Of course, it's new vampires."

"In their first few months after the change." Edward stated.

Then Jasper took it upon himself to continue.

"That's when we're at our most uncontrollable, vicious, insane with thirst." Jasper said, his gaze still stern that it was starting to make Luna nervous. This was a very serious thing.

Never has she seen Jasper this serious before aside from when he found Luna in the forest, getting beat up by Jeremy.

Luna reaches for her soulmate's hand and Jasper gladly accepts it, his thumb caressing the back of her hand.

"Something to look forward to." Said Emmett, a look of excitement on his face.

"No one has trained these newborns, but this isn't random." Jasper said when he turned to Carlisle.

Carlisle clasped his hands together as he deciphered what his adoptive son meant.

"Someone's creating an army." Carlisle stated.

Emmett suddenly stands up and jumped down from the couch in an enthusiastic manner.

"Oh, now we're definitely going to Seattle." Emmett said.

"An army of vampires?" Bella asked.

Luna rolls her eyes again as she throws her free hand in the air before letting it drop on her thigh.

"No. An army of dwarves. Seriously, Bella why do you keep asking the obvious?" Luna said with frustration and clear sarcasm.

"It's just a little hard to believe." Bella stated.

"You're dating a vampire. That's more unbelievable than an army of vampires." Luna stated, which was true.

Luna always thought that Bella was probably the most unlikely person on the whole planet to be with a vampire because the girl is just downright clumsy. It will be no surprise if she caused an accident that will endanger her life with her vampire boyfriend.

"Well, you're dating a vampire, too. Isn't that also unbelievable?" Bella tried to argue, but she should've known better than to argue with Luna. She practically does arguing for a living.

"I'm a bad bitch. I deserve a vampire." Luna said as she leaned in towards Jasper, causing him to wrap his arm around her waist to pull her closer.

Bella just sighed in defeat and Luna takes that as an opportunity to finally let her lover continue what they were explaining.

"So, you were saying?" Luna asked.

Jasper only sent Luna a brief smile before his face turned hard again as he looked away.

"The army of vampires, they've been created to fight someone." Jasper said.

"We're the only clan even close to Seattle." Edward stated, his tone confused.

"Regardless of who they are, if we don't put a stop to them, the Volturi will. I'm surprised they've let it go on this long." Carlisle said, his gaze looking away from his bronze-haired son as he wondered.

"Maybe they're behind it." Edward commented.

Luna furrows her brows as she threw in a question.

"Why would they? Aren't they, like, vampire royalties that are supposed to maintain the peace and other bullshit in the bloodsucker world?" Luna asked.

They simply ignored Luna's choice of terms. When one has known Luna for at least a few weeks, one would grow to ignore and accept that part of her as normal.

"In Italy, I read Aro's mind. He wants me and Alice to join him. But he knows we'd never choose him as long as our family is still alive." Edward said.

"An army could solve that for him." Jasper responded.

Everyone in the room exchanged anxious glances as this theory was starting to make sense. But before the tension in the atmosphere becomes even thicker, Emmett suddenly spoke.

"Before I forget, are we just gonna ignore the fact that Luna just said 'holy vaggie-boo'?"

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They did just ignored it. The moment was too serious that a statement like that wouldn't even place just the slightest curl to their lips.

After being in the Cullens' house, the Swan twins finally decided to go home and spend a little more time with Charlie. Considering that Charlie already met Edward, Luna planned to introduce Jasper the next day.

Charlie let out a series of groans as Luna went on and on about how Jasper is such an amazing guy and everything, which was one-hundred percent true, but he did agree to meet the honey-blonde boy in order to have a talk with him. His daughter experienced something terrible with her past boyfriend and it felt necessary for him to warn Jasper about some hidden, unwelcome intentions that he has for Luna, not that he has any. He'd rather die than even think about doing those things to her.

Now, the two were just lying on Luna's bed, facing each other. The silence was almost deafening as they stared into each other's similar golden eyes. The moon was high enough that its light was no longer piercing through her curtains to give a little glow inside the dimly lit room.

But even if there was no light at all, it was far from dark. It was enough to appreciate the beauty that is their soulmate. Luna can't even point out a single flaw from his face. Everything was so proportioned. He could even be a model at this point. Well, it is one of the perks of being a vampire, ethereal beauty. Perfect may not be enough to describe this man.

In Jasper's eyes, the little, almost unnoticeable wrinkles that she has on her forehead from frowning too much didn't strike to him as an imperfection. Every time he looks at her, he feels like he's looking at a masterpiece. And he couldn't be more right.

As they laid there, with only their breathing and their steady heartbeat the most audible sounds at the moment, Luna got to thinking.

She was in a relationship with a man so gorgeous, any woman and man would be falling head over heels for him. A man so nice, that he was almost too good to be true. A man so patient, she can't help but feel...guilty.

"I'm sorry." Luna murmured.

The first words that came out of Luna's mouth ever since they began to lay there caused the honey-blonde vampire to look at her in confusion, eyebrows pushing together.

"For what?" He asked.

The expression on Luna's face didn't change. It remained in between the state of emotionless and hurt.

"For not giving you what a girlfriend normally give their boyfriend." Luna said, her voice still faint.

"You mean..." Jasper trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence knowing that it would make her uncomfortable.

Jasper frowned as he spoke.

"No...No, no." Jasper said as he placed a hand on her cheek. "You don't have to worry about that, darlin'. I couldn't care less about it. In fact, you don't have to give me anything. Just you existing made my heart beat again. You make me feel human. I haven't felt that in a really long time, and that's the most precious gift anyone has ever given me."

Luna blinked away the tears that formed in her eyes, it was a mix of sadness and satisfaction. Though, Luna still couldn't help the thoughts that flooded her mind.

"It's just that...a lot of students see us as this perfect couple. I don't show anyone this but I feel pressured. Like, come on, I'm Luna fucking Swan. I'm supposed to be strong and brave and fearless, you know? But I feel pressured because that's not who I am anymore and I just keep pretending for the sake of not having to face the fact that I've changed. That I'm not strong anymore, nor am I brave and fearless. If anything, I'm now the complete opposite. I'm terrified." The crack in Luna's voice sent a pang of pain straight to Jasper's heart.

"And I don't like being scared. I hate it so much. Which is why I always have to pretend. But sometimes everything is too much. I was raped. I found out my best friend was behind everything. Then I learned that I was pregnant and that I lost the baby. My rapist has gone missing and is possibly a vampire. Forks already heard the news, which caused everyone to talk about it 24/7. All of that happened in less than a month. I can't take it anymore, it's too much." Luna said, burying her face into her hands after she finished letting out everything.

"Hey, hey..." Jasper whispered as he gently takes away her hands from her face, seeing the few tears that have escaped her eyes.

"You don't have to keep pretending. I'm here now. I didn't know who this old Luna was. All I know is this amazing, talented, loud, sarcastic, and stubborn girl named Selene Swan. And these emotions? Selene, it's what makes you human. You don't need to lock them all up. You'll be surprised at how good it feels once it's all over." Jasper told her, caressing her cheek in the process.

Luna couldn't suppress the small smile that tugged on her lips. Jasper never failed to make her feel better. It was like he was her ice cream every time she's sad, her music every time it was silent, her smile every time she's frowning.

"You're really good at giving speeches, you know? What, did you like, learn them too during your free time or something?" Luna asked, her tone becoming a bit lightened.

A smile stretched on Jasper's lips.

"You bring out the best in me." Jasper said, causing the girl's heart to leap into the clouds.

Jasper stares at her eyes lovingly, as the words came out of his mouth.

"I love you, till the moon is upside down." He said.

Now, her heart leaped higher and reached outer space. Knowing that she didn't have to say it back since Jasper already told her that he'll be saying it for the both of them, she simply moved closer to him as he held her in his arms, letting the night slip away with not another word out of their lips, but their hearts filled with a particular three-worded phrase.

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"Daddy! Jasper's here." Luna called out as she opened the door, revealing a well-dressed, honey-blonde vampire.

"Hi." Luna greeted.

"Hi." Jasper greeted back, like they weren't together just this morning.

Luna gestured for Jasper to come in and she closes the door behind him. Charlie appears in front of them with a protective look on his face as he nodded at the vampire.

"Good evening, Chief Swan. I'm Jasper Hale." Jasper greeted as he offered his hand, his Southern accent catching Charlie's attention.

"You from the South?" Charlie asked while he accepted Jasper's hand and shook it, slightly startled by how cold his skin was.

"Texas, sir." Jasper answered.

"Figured." Charlie replied as he nodded.

The two shook each other's hands rather very long and it was starting to get a bit awkward that Luna had to step in and break the tension.

"Okay!" Luna said, pushing the hands of the two most important men in her life before pulling them into the living room.

The three had a long conversation, mostly about Jasper's background which he had no trouble explaining. Surprisingly, Luna could see that her father is making an effort to like the guy, and much to Luna's bliss, he was actually liking Jasper. After all, what was not to like?

Luna was almost sure that Charlie preferred Jasper over Edward. And it was making Luna so happy.

"I'm gonna get more juice." Luna said before she rose from the couch and made her way to the kitchen.

It would take no more than ten seconds to take the juice-filled pitcher out of the fridge but it took Luna a minute since her enhanced hearing caught Charlie's serious voice.

"Did Luna tell you?" Charlie asked.

Jasper didn't have to think about what he was talking about. It was rather obvious.

"Yes, sir." He answered.

Charlie nodded. "And you understand that Luna would have a lot to deal with right now?"

"I promised to be with her every step of the way." Jasper answered.

"How can I make sure that you won't do the same to my daughter?" Charlie asked, his tone hardening.

When Jasper answered, Luna could hear the same sincerity in his voice, like every time he says those words.

"I'd rather die than even think about doing those things to her." Jasper said.

Like Charlie was even before they had this talk, he was glad. Glad that his daughter has someone as noble and as kind as Jasper. He knew he'd have no trouble with the boy.

Then, none of them was able to drink the last pitcher of juice when a fight from outside caught the attention of the three, causing them to run outside without another thought.

There they saw Edward and Jacob fighting with Bella trying (and failing) to keep them apart.

"Well, let me give you a clue! Wait for her to say the words." Edward said with a threatening tone.

"Fine, and she will." Jacob said through gritted teeth.

"Jacob, just go, okay?!" Bella exclaimed.

It wasn't like the silly little fights that the two normally had. This one was serious, and the faces of Bella, Edward, and Jacob showed it.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey. Easy guys, easy. Let's take it down a notch. Alright?" Charlie said as he went to break off the fight between the two, Luna and Jasper remained on the porch.

Charlie flickered his gaze between Edward and Jacob as he waited for at least one of them to talk.

"What's going on?" Charlie asked.

It was silent for a moment, none of them wanted to speak. But after a few seconds of silence, Jacob finally decided to talk.

"I kissed Bella." Jacob said, earning surprised glances from Luna, Jasper, and Charlie.

"And she broke her hand...punching my face." He added. "Total misunderstanding."

But when the words left Jacob's mouth, indescribable fury seemed to flow through Luna's veins, the fury that she has no control over and it was only a matter of seconds before this fury takes over her and make her snap.

"You kissed Bella against her will?" Luna asked from the porch with her teeth gritted.

Jacob couldn't utter a word out, like he was choking with the excuses that he wanted to tell but none of them came out because of how angry Luna looked. He thought that saying nothing would probably be best.

Little did he know that it only made Luna angrier.

Charlie had no idea how the hell her daughter went to Jacob so fast but the next thing all of them knew, Luna's right hook made contact with Jacob's jaw. And unlike earlier where Bella broke her hand and Jacob didn't budge, Luna's hand was perfectly fine, which was the complete opposite of Jacob.

He fell to the ground with a slightly surprised expression on his face as he palmed his jaw. He dared to glance at Luna once more and he internally wished that he hadn't.

If they were in a cartoon, Luna's eyes would be flaming and her hair would be blazing in anger. She was that angry.

"How dare you do that without her consent." Luna said with clenched teeth.

Charlie planned to go over his daughter and attempt to calm her down but Jasper got to her first, spinning her around gently so she would face him.

"Hey, don't worry." Jasper said, his gaze flickering to Jacob. "He's learned his lesson." He added.

Luna struggled to keep it together as her nails started to dig into her palms because of how tight she's clenching her fists.

"Selene," Jasper said, surprising Charlie considering Luna doesn't like being called by her real name. "Breathe. Just breathe. Can you do that for me?"

Charlie watched intently as Jasper successfully calmed his daughter down. Never has he seen anyone calm Luna down after being so angry. He and Renee weren't even close to successful as Jasper was. That was the main reason why Charlie thinks that Jasper is exactly the man that Luna needs. And he couldn't be happier for his daughter.

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I updated a bit later than usual since, again, college life is hard. But anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! The sneak peek of the next chapter will be up soon on Luna's Instagram.

xoxo Sammy