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While Bella had planned to confront Edward about his rude actions - encouraged by her younger sister - Anna had the plan to introduce herself formally to Jasper. She didn't know what it was about him but she felt this spark, something so foreign yet so familiar and every part of her was pleading to be in his presence again.

However, when Bella and Anna arrived at school the next day - neither were in class leaving Bella and Anna confused. The twins weren't sure what to make of it, they had many theories and no answers leaving them unsure about the entire situation. While Bella focused on her textbooks for class, Anna felt a strange hole within her chest without Jasper being around.

More days passed - but no shows which only concerned Anna and confused Bella. And while their new friends were great at distracting the twins - they found themselves missing the silent brooding foster siblings despite the distance in their close vicinity. Anna had been having more frequent zone outs which began to concern Bella and their friends.

But Anna assured them it was fine, she wasn't necessarily bothered by the strange moments as her journal became full of random distant thoughts and drawings. Anna had promised them that if she felt overwhelmed that she'd tell them straight away which eased all of them. Especially Tyler who had practically become Anna's best friend due to their matching bubbly personalities, the older boy was beyond worried about her - secretly hoping Jasper would show up to ease her.

The two consistently teased Mike due to his clear crush on Bella despite the brunette Swan ignoring - or oblivious - to his flirting attempts. It was always amusing to them because they knew Jessica had a thing for Mike which often left the perky little brunette salty about Mike's attention focused on Bella. Tyler and Anna even had a bet for when Mike and Jessica would get together - the two certain it would be around prom.

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Anna laughed as Bella slipped on the ice by the steps, Charlie quickly moved to help her out after he pulled the ute into the driveway. "You alright?" Charlie asked as Anna calmed down from laughing. "Yeah, I'm good. Ice doesn't really help the uncoordinated," Bella told him once she was stable, sending a glare to Anna who was still muffling a laugh.

"Yeah. That's why I had some new tires put on the truck. Old ones were getting pretty bald," Charlie told her as Anna linked her arm with Bella's. "Thanks, Dad," Anna replied, her bright smile easing the awkward tension. "Well, I'll probably be late for dinner. I gotta head down to Mason County," Charlie informed them as they got into the car, Bella's door opened so Charlie could talk to them.

"What happened?" Anna asked straight away, leaning over her sister. "A security guard at the Grisham Mill got killed by some kind of animal," Charlie answered her. "An animal?" Bella asked him with a raised brow. "You're not in Phoenix anymore, Bells. Anyway, I figured I'd lend a hand," Charlie told them. "Be careful," The twins told him in unison bringing a smile to his face. "Always am," Charlie told them before letting them leave for school.

Anna pulled her new coat on tighter around her as she climbed out of the car at school. She had decided on some black jeans and a long-sleeved sweatshirt, her hair covered by a beige knitted beanie. "Hey trouble," Tyler called as he walked over, his arm resting around Anna's shoulders as they walked into the school where Eric was waiting.

The four of them continued their way to biology - Tyler ended up splitting off from them. "Prom committee is a chick thing, but I gotta cover the paper anyway, and they need a guy to help choose the music, so I need one of your playlists," Eric explained to the twins, Anna nodding happily knowing she made hers and Bella's playlist from her love of different music.

"Hey, listen, I was wondering, did you have a date to..." Eric began asking Bella until Mike walked up, shaking his hat above Bella's head causing water to fall over her - the sight making Anna laugh. "What's up, Arizona? Huh? How you liking the rain, girl? Better get used to it quick, girl," Mike teased as Anna shook her head. "Yeah, Mike, hey, you're real cute, man," Eric told him with a bitter tone.

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Anna and Bella's attention was taken by the familiar face of Edward Cullen who was sitting at his usual desk. Anna's attention moved from him to Jasper instantly, her heart rate picked up as soon as they locked eyes. Once again, blue met ocher in a stormy connection that sparked a chill down Anna's spine. She swallowed dryly before taking in a deep breath - taking careful steps towards the table.

She sat down and instantly was met with a wave of calm - she relished in the feeling, letting it completely take over her. "I'm sorry, I didn't get the chance to introduce myself last week. I'm Jasper Hale. And you're Anna, right?" Jasper asked, his Southern drawl scratched an itch within Anna's mind - the sound was like a soothing melody that echoed within her mind though the real sound was so much more pleasurable than the echo.

"Yes. It's a pleasure to meet you more formally," Anna replied to him - noticing the way his lip twitched up in an almost smile. "Onion root tip cells, that's what's on your slides right now. Okay? So, separate and label them into the phases of mitosis, and the first partners that get it right are gonna win the Golden Onion," Mr Molina explained before holding up an onion that was, indeed, golden.

"Right..." Anna breathed out with a raised brow at the Golden Onion before shaking her head. "I don't understand why they have to reward people all the time just for cooperation," Anna rambled as Jasper watched her. "Anyway... I noticed that you weren't present over the past week or so," Anna told him - trying to play it off as nothing despite the pure joy she felt seeing he was back.

"Yeah, my family and I were out of town for a couple of days. Personal reasons," Jasper explained to her as she looked through the microscope. "It's Prophase," Anna told him with a small smile before leaning back in her seat. "Well, I'm glad you're back," Anna told him before her eyes widened in panic.

"You know, so you aren't missing any more classes and, uh, such... I, uh.." Anna rambled before putting her head in her hands. "Cute..." Jasper whispered which caused Anna's face to flush red at the comment, her heart to race and a quiet squeak left her lips - which didn't go unnoticed by Jasper who smirked at the reaction.

"I'm glad you enjoy my presence," Jasper told her, his Southern accent caused her stomach to do flips. "I, uh, didn't say, um, that. But, uh... never mind," Anna said after she noticed the smirk on Jasper's face, the Southern boy's smirk widened at her sudden submission to his words knowing he was right - Anna had never been so flustered in the presence of the opposite gender before.

To distract herself, Anna focused on the class task - looking through the microscope despite the burning gaze on the side of her face taunting her to look back at him with the same intensity. "It's anaphase," Anna told him before writing it down, she pushed the microscope towards Jasper causing their hands to brush against each other.

The chill of his hand caused Anna to twitch slightly, the sudden contact surged a strange tingle starting from the point of impact throughout her whole body - she felt a moment of pure ecstasy before it faded. She was curious about his cold hands before she was reminded of the weather due to the rain hitting the window panes, the perfect reasoning for his cold hands.

"Anaphase. You're either good at this or we're both wrong," Jasper said to her once he noticed she wasn't gonna question the cold hands. "Let's hope the former rather than the latter," Anna teased with a smile as Jasper prepared the next slide. "So why move to the wettest place in the continental US?" Jasper asked her - he wanted to learn more about her.

"Well, my mom remarried to my stepfather Phil, he's a minor league baseball player, and they wanted to spend some time on the road so Bella and I moved in with our father so we wouldn't miss school and wouldn't invade on their relationship," Anna explained openly - she felt safe around him. "It's metaphase," Jasper told her with a smile, "Need to double-check it?" Anna laughed softly, the sound like a melody to Jasper.

"I trust your judgment," Anna answered as she wrote it down. "Why thank you, ma'am," Jasper replied causing Anna's heart to skip a beat, his fluent drawl of Southern perfection left his kissable lips leaving Anna starstruck. "D-Don't do that," Anna stuttered out which only made Jasper smirk - He swore that his own heart would skip a beat. . . If it was beating.

"My apologies, Anna," Jasper replied as Anna's eyes glazed over - a familiar sight to Jasper causing his brows to furrow. He watched as Anna pulled her journal out almost robotically before opening to a new page, she picked up a pencil before letting her pencil glide delicately across the page. Edward and Bella had turned their gazes to them, Bella smiled softly.

Jasper watched the paper, his focus flicking from Anna's sudden drawing to her face that held a blank expression yet a glint of concentration. She suddenly gasped quietly before leaning back in her seat, she furrowed her brows at the drawing that seemed to be a piece of a vehicle - a large dent in the side of it with a hand by it.

"Anna?" Jasper asked softly to ensure she was out of her thoughts - she looked down in embarrassment from the sudden strange behaviour in front of the first person she had ever felt an attraction to. "Hey..." Jasper breathed out - not that he needed to - before bravely moving a strand of her hair from her face.

"You are very talented," Jasper told her as he motioned to the picture she had subconsciously drawn. "T-Thanks... I don't even know how I suddenly became a good artist. I used to be terrible," Anna told him before closing the journal, she didn't understand the drawing and hoped it was just a random thought her mind produced.

"So I assume you don't mind the weather then?" Jasper asked Anna who turned her gaze to him with a raised brow. "You're asking me about the weather after what you just witnessed?" Anna asked him - not noticing the way he smirked at the familiar question. "I was just curious. You're from Arizona yet you seem to adjust to the cold naturally," Jasper explained to her.

"I don't mind the cold. It's a big change from Arizona but I've visited Forks a few times and I do love the rain," Anna expressed happily. "When was the last time you were in Forks?" Jasper asked her, he was curious if it was recent. "Four months ago was my most recent visit," Anna told him as she fiddled with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

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Before Jasper could speak further, Mr Molina spoke up and announced that Bella and Edward had won the Golden Onion - the bell rang instantly afterwards. Anna packed up her things and shoved them into her bag, "Um, I'll see you around." Anna left before Jasper could respond, she kept her head down until she got outside.

She leaned back against the ute where she began taking deep breaths to calm herself down from both happiness and embarrassment. She lifted her head as Bella approached her, the two had a silent conversation through looks ensuring they were both okay before they both sighed equally and leaned back against the ute next to each other.

"So did you confront him?" Anna asked her with a concerned expression. "Yes and no. Mainly no," Bella answered as Anna rested her head on Bella's shoulder. "Well, I spoke with Jasper," Anna told Bella who smirked, elbowing her sister's side teasingly. "And how did that go?" Bella asked Anna as the two subconsciously looked over at the Cullens.

"He's Southern... his accent is to die for, he has great manners and he... called me cute," Anna expressed distantly, her tone came out dreamy and Bella was amused - neither of them noticing the small smile on Jasper's face. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say this is the beginning of a crush," Bella told her with a teasing tone - she began to think Anna would never be attracted to another person.

"Honesty... I wouldn't be surprised," Anna replied without a doubt, she didn't care how others would react and she was completely comfortable with the fact they had just met - Anna Swan was absolutely beginning to crush on the Southern prince, Jasper Hale - and she was completely okay with it because there was no such thing as too soon when it felt this natural, right?

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Rosemary Speaks

Honestly, reading through this again makes me really happy. I wasn't liking the second part of the book but the first part so far, I actually love it.

However, what are you thinking so far?

See you next chapter!