"Evelyn."

The girl groaned, frowning as she stirred, but she didn't wake up. Jasper sighed, an amused grin on his face as he stared down at his love, who was sleeping peacefully on his chest. He knew she was exhausted; she always was after games. She had barely collapsed next to him onto her bed after her shower before she was gone, swept away into the deepest corners of her mind.

Sometimes, on days like today, he wished he could sleep, too. After centuries of this endless existence, he had forgotten what it was like to succumb to its blissful ignorance, to escape the world for a while. He often wondered what she dreamed about as he listened to her breaths come slow and even, her eyelids fluttering every so often. Occasionally, he would see her lips turn upwards into a delicate smile, and suddenly the unique rush of warmth and emotion that she always felt when they were together would wash over him like water and he knew that she had dreamt of him. It was an odd sensation at first, but now he couldn't help but find it endearing. It was intoxicating to feel and understand the love that she had for him, and if he could sleep, he was sure he would dream of her, too.

It was these simple moments that made him long for his humanity. Jasper knew he would give anything to drift off next to her, forget their worries and just be.

Now, as he gazed down at the mess of brown curls and her peaceful, relaxed face, a part of him was tempted to let her sleep. It seemed that time was frozen in her tiny bedroom at the top of the stairs, and he didn't want to do anything to disturb the quiet serenity. If it were his choice, they would stay there for eternity, but he knew that Evelyn wanted to be at Bella's party with his family. He also knew that Alice would have his head if she found out that he was the reason they didn't come.

Jasper shifted, brushing the hair from Evelyn's face and tracing his fingers gently across her cheek. "Darlin', it's almost time for us to go."

The softness of his usually deep voice and his cold fingers on the sensitive skin of her face pulled Evelyn from her repose. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open to see the sun's golden light peeking out from behind the blanket of clouds in the Forks sky as it began its descent. She grinned sleepily up at Jasper as she watched him play lazily with a strand of her hair.

"What time is it?" She asked as she started to trace absentminded circles on his chest with her fingers.

"Almost six. Alice wanted us to be there at seven to help set up."

Evelyn sighed, propping herself up on her elbow. "She's probably had the whole thing set up since last night."

"Not everything, apparently," Jasper grinned. "She likes to make sure we're all enjoying the party planning festivities." He leaned down, brushing his lips against her forehead, and he carefully moved out from under her as he stood. "I'll wait for you downstairs."

Evelyn bit her lip, a grin tugging at her lips as she watched him walk out of her room and shut the door carefully behind him. Even now, months after they had met she still felt butterflies when he spoke or moved. Sighing happily, she rolled out of bed and shuffled to her closet to find something suitable to switch out her t-shirt and sweatpants with.

She settled on an off the shoulder emerald green dress with three quarters sleeves that flared out at her waist, the hemline hitting just above her knees. She swept her messy hair into a side braid, carefully laying it over her right shoulder to cover the scar that James' bite had left on her skin; she knew Jasper hated seeing it so she always did her best to make sure it was concealed. She pulled on a pair of tights and the only pair of heels she owned before moving to the bathroom to quickly do her makeup.

Once she was finished she grabbed her purse and a jacket and carefully made her way down the stairs, wobbling slightly from being unused to her shoes. She found Jasper waiting patiently by the front door, and she felt her cheeks flush pink when she noticed the way his ocher eyes softened as they fell on her.

"Do you think it's too much?" She asked shyly, looking down at her feet as she nervously smoothed her hands over her skirt. "I know Alice said cocktail attire but I wasn't sure--"

"You're perfect," he assured, cutting her off with a soft kiss that made goosebumps erupt on her skin. "Absolutely perfect." He carefully slid her coat from her hands and held it out for her to put on.

"What a gentleman," she teased, grinning as she allowed him to help her slip the jacket over her shoulders. She turned to face him again, her heart fluttering when she saw his dazzling smile and perfect dimples showing. "I don't know what I'd do without you," she joked, her tone teasing as he took her hand.

"Well then I'll make sure you never have to be without me," he told her, his face more serious than his tone as his golden eyes poured into hers. She held her breath as he used his free hand to trace her cheekbone, moving gently down her face and resting under her chin. "I promise."

She smiled softly up at her love, leaning closer into his touch as she kissed him again. "I'll hold you to that, soldier. Now let's get going, Alice will kill us if we're late."

***

Unsurprisingly, Alice was flitting from room to room to ensure that everything was perfect before she allowed Bella and Edward to come downstairs. Emmett, Jasper, and Carlisle were busy setting up the living room with various minimalist decorations and a table for food while Evelyn found herself in the kitchen with Esme, who was putting the finishing touches on Bella's cake.

"Do you all still celebrate your birthdays each year?" Evelyn asked curiously, suddenly realizing that she had no idea when Jasper or any of the Cullens were born. "Or do they become more insignificant as time goes on?"

Esme smiled as she examined the cake, a piping back full of frosting in her hand. "We don't celebrate, necessarily, but yes, I suppose we acknowledge them. They don't mean very much to us as the years go by. That's why Alice was so excited when she knew Bella's was coming up." She glanced up, giving Evelyn a knowing look. "You know she'll be planning a party for you as soon as this one is over, don't you?"

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Evelyn replied, her smile growing at the thought of spending her own birthday with the Cullens, who had become like a second family to her. "Where is Rosalie?"

Esme frowned slightly as she worked on the cake. "You know how she feels about Bella. I don't think she will be here until she absolutely has to be. Can you hand me the candles, dear?"

Evelyn did as she was asked, watching quietly as Esme expertly finished frosting the homemade cake and placed the decorative flowers and candles on top. She admired how much love and care Esme put into everything that she did, and the girl always found herself watching her when she came over. She could see why all of the others viewed her as their mother; she was one of those people who was simply born for it.

She was shaken from her thoughts when Alice danced into the kitchen, shoes barely making a noise as she floated towards Esme. "Is the cake almost ready? Everything is perfect in the living room."

Esme smiled triumphantly after she adjusted the decorative piece one last time, leaning back to admire her work. "It's perfect! I'll bring it out while you go get the birthday girl! Evelyn, you can grab the snack trays from the fridge and bring those out."

Evelyn nodded, giggling as she watched Alice's eyes light up and then she was gone, flashing upstairs to go and get Bella. She grabbed the plates of snacks that were way too much to be for only two humans and followed Esme into the living room.

Her eyes widened as she entered the room, immediately drawn to the soft golden light emanating from dozens of candles placed expertly throughout the space. There were flowers everywhere, and music was flowing softly from a stereo in the corner of the room. She set the trays down on the table that had been set up near the stairs, careful to avoid the cake so as not to mess up any of Esme's hard work.

She wiped her hands on her dress and turned to find Jasper, who seemed to be waiting for her near the foot of the stairs. He had changed since she last saw him, and was now wearing a clean grey sweater and dark jeans. She smiled as she made her way over to him, melting into his side as he slipped a protective arm around her waist. The rest of the Cullen family, including Rosalie, who had just entered the room, gathered at the foot of the stairs to wait for Bella and Edward. Evelyn met the blonde's topaz eyes and they exchanged a tentative smile; the two were by no means close, but after Rosalie had saved her life last spring there was a sort of unspoken bond between the two of them.

Evelyn shivered as she felt Jasper lean down close to her ear, his cool breath tickling her neck. "Here she comes," he murmured, and her eyes went to the stairs as Bella, Edward, and Alice descended.

Carlisle and Esme were the first to greet Bella. "Sorry about all of this," Carlisle said as he took Bella's hands. "We tried to reign Alice in."

"As if that were even possible!" Esme laughed, pulling Bella into a tight embrace. "Happy Birthday, Bella!"

Evelyn bit her cheek to keep herself from laughing at her friend's awkwardness; she knew Bella still found it odd and hated when all of the attention was on her. She gasped when she felt Jasper pinch her side lightly.

"It's not funny," he whispered sternly, but he was grinning too. She bumped him with her shoulder playfully before turning to see Bella flinch from the flash of her new camera.

Alice smiled sweetly. "Evelyn and I found it in your bag, I hope you don't mind."

"Ev, really?" Bella frowned, rounding on her friend.

Evelyn shrugged, a goofy smile on her face. "We have to fill up that new scrapbook somehow, Bells!" Bella merely shook her head, but she looked happier as a small smile made its way onto her face.

"Dating an older woman... hot." Emmett said to Edward with a knowing smirk. However, he frowned when Edward scoffed in response. "What?"

"Oh my god," Evelyn whispered, unable to contain her giggles as she saw the unimpressed look on Edward's face. Jasper's chest vibrated against her back as he laughed, too.

"Okay, time for presents! Rose, you first," Alice urged, shoving a perfectly wrapped box into the blonde vampire's unwilling hands. Rosalie sighed as she extending the gift towards Bella immediately after it touched her hand.

"It's a necklace," she said, no emotion in her voice. "Alice picked it out."

Bella didn't even get the chance to open it before Alice was pulling her and Edward together to take a picture. "Show me the love!" She teased, but Bella and Edward both stood a little awkwardly as Alice snapped their picture. The pixie-like vampire whirled on Evelyn, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her into view of the camera. "Now let's get one of you two."

Evelyn and Bella wrapped their arms around each other and smiled wide for the photo, before Alice was pushing another present into Bella's hands. Evelyn moved back into Jasper's waiting arms, resting her head on his shoulder as she watched Bella shake what appeared to be an empty box from Emmett.

The burly vampire grinned from the stairwell. "Already installed it in your truck," he told her proudly. "Finally a decent sound system for that piece of --"

"Hey, don't hate the truck!" Bella retorted, but she was smiling. They all laughed, all too familiar with the lovely orange Chevy that Bella drove around Forks.

"Open Esme and Carlisle's next," Alice said, extending an envelope to Bella's waiting hands.

"Just a little something to brighten your day," Carlisle said, clearly proud of his little joke as he and Esme exchanged a knowing look. Evelyn watched her friend to see if she would figure out that the gift was a trip to Jacksonville.

"You've been looking kind of pale, lately," Esme continued, nodding at Bella to open the envelope.

Bella's eyes suddenly widened, and she laughed as she began messing with the wrapping paper on the envelope to confirm her suspicion. Alice moved in to help her when the girl's hand slipped against an exposed edge of paper. "Ow," Bella gasped, breathing in sharply. She held up her finger, exposing the crimson trail of blood that was now flowing onto her hand. "Paper cut," she breathed, her eyes unfocused.

Everything seemed to happen both in slow motion and in the blink of an eye. Evelyn felt Jasper tense behind her, his grip on her waist becoming painful as his stone-like fingers dug into her flesh.

"Jasper, no--" She said, trying to get his attention, but it was already too late. Jasper was completely overcome by the scent of Bella's blood, and there was nothing she could do to stop him. In his frenzy he flung her to the side, and she would have went flying into a window across the living room had Esme not leapt across the room to catch her in time. She slammed into the woman's cold body with her shoulder taking most of the impact.

In the same moment Edward had thrown Bella behind him, sending her crashing into the glass vases of flowers and onto the floor. Evelyn watched in horror as he then shoved Jasper, who had launched himself towards Bella, hard in the chest. Jasper flew through the air and smashed into the grand piano behind him, but he was up in an instant and trying to get at Bella again. He was able to dodge Carlisle's first attempt at restraining him and he attempted to do the same with Emmett, but he was too strong and within seconds the two of them had Jasper restrained as he struggled against them.

Evelyn immediately tried to go to him, but Esme's arms tightened around her. "You can't get any closer, Evelyn. He won't recognize you."

She slumped against Esme's body as she suddenly felt hopeless. "Jasper! Jasper please, this isn't you," she called to him. His head immediately snapped in her direction as he struggled to get free, and a low growl escaped his throat as he snarled menacingly at her. Instinctively, Evelyn flinched backwards against Esme, and suddenly Rosalie was there in front of her, an equally if not more so menacing growl ripping through her bared teeth.

Alice stepped in front of Jasper, placing her hands on his face to distract him. "Jazz, it's okay, it's okay, it's just a little bit of..." She paused, and suddenly all of the vampires were hyperaware of the smell of Bella's blood in the room. In Edward's attempt to protect Bella, he had accidentally made things worse by throwing her into the vases, which had cut up more of her arm. Bella lay on the floor clutching her arm as the crimson liquid oozed from her wounds and onto the white carpet, her eyes wide in terror as she stared at Jasper.

In a flash, Carlisle was at Bella's side, examining the cuts. "Get Jasper out of here," he ordered, turning to Emmett for a brief moment before returning his attention to Bella. Rosalie moved to help Emmett lead Jasper outside, and Evelyn felt utterly helpless as she watched him be forcefully escorted from the room. Alice followed soon after, unable to withstand the smell of the blood.

"I'll have to stitch this up in my office," Carlisle said, further examining the wound. He suddenly turned to Edward, who was standing with a hollow look in his eyes that Evelyn didn't like at all. "Check on Jasper. I'm sure he's very upset with himself and I doubt he'll listen to anyone but you right now." His eyes met Evelyn's green ones for a brief moment, and she nodded to let him know that she would not try to follow him, even though everything in her was begging to do just that. Right now, her being around Jasper would only make things worse.

Edward left the room without a word or second glance back at Bella, and immediately after Esme gently began to pull Evelyn from the room as well. She allowed the vampire to lead her towards the front door without protest; she felt numb, like her brain had detached from her body and she was now running on autopilot.

All she could think about was how upset Jasper would be when he calmed down, and how absolutely useless she had been to do anything to help him. To see him suffering and not being capable of soothing him was perhaps what broke her heart the most.

She didn't know how, but she had a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach that everything had changed in an instant, and now nothing would be the same again.