"We meet tomorrow. They will help us," Edward said, and I wished I could get more of a reason on him than his emotions. It sucked that he could always read my mind with no problem. It was evident he was tense, so I led him out of the house to the garage where we could talk.

"Okay. This is good news. We can definitely use their numbers."

"What are our chances of surviving this with no losses to our side?" He looked right through me, and I wanted to lie. I wanted to shrug it off the way that Emmett would, but he knew me too well. Plus he cheated. He was reading my thoughts. "That good?"

"Look, fledglings are hard to battle. They're very strong, and these have been allowed to run wild. We are not sure of their numbers yet either."

"Right." He looked away and I sighed. What was I supposed to say?

I gave him a bit and when he didn't turn back to face me I reached out and gripped his shoulder. "But I will come up with a plan that will give us the advantage. The pack moves together just like we do. We have training on our side, and we are more motivated to win. They're just hungry and want to destroy things. We have an invested interest here."

"We can not fail, Jasper."

I knew that. I didn't have to say it, and he didn't wait for me to. Instead, he walked out, and I left him to it. There was no talking to Edward when he was in this kind of mood.

The song is their secret. As much of a secret as it can be in their family that is. Sometimes Jasper suspects that Edward knows. He would worry that Edward not only knows, but has told Emmett and Rosalie. Alice shoos away those suspicions by reminding him that if Emmett knew he would never let Jasper live it down.

It started out as a joke of course. They were in the car on some warm night in the late eighties when it came on. Phil Collins was one of those guilty pleasures that Jasper simply doesn't admit to liking. The song was a cover, but there was something about the way Phil sang it that touched Jasper. So he sang it to her. In the car, song blasting, singing it in a ridiculously over passionate way because it was a joke. She'd laughed and laughed, and it became their secret.

When she was sad he would hum it in her ear. It worked as well as any other means he could use to lift her mood. If she was angry with him, he'd sing it, knowing full well it was cheating. She could anticipate it coming on and warn him not to try it. He'd ignore her and do it anyway. She could never resist the song.

It was their secret. It would always remain their secret. At least until the day he was stupid enough to take a dare from Edward. Because little did Jasper know that Edward was quite patient, and had been waiting for nearly two decades for him to choose dare instead of truth during the game. The moment he does? It's karaoke time.

Happy Father's Day, Carlisle.

Love,
Alice, Edward, Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie

I have no problems communicating with people. From the time I was young I was able to have people see things my way. Maybe they didn't agree with me, but I could settle them down so they would at least hear me out. That is the problem with communication isn't it? Everyone feels so passionate about their own words they can't settle down enough to hear someone else out. I'd give you tips on how to manage communication the way I do, but to be honest with you it's just a natural gift.

//locked to family//

It's not my fault the rest of you can't manipulate emotions. If you could then I'm sure you would be able to get the rest of us to see things your way more often than not. I know that Rosalie is rolling her eyes, but I don't abuse my gift. I think I'm much more controlled than say Alice and Edward who completely abuse their abilities at every possible moment.

One of these days I'm going to learn how to predict when Edward is trying to read my mind and cut him off at the chase. I'd never do that to Alice though. She is free to see as far into the future as she wants. And no, Emmett, you can't bribe me to manipulate people into seeing things your way. That would be wrong.

He was infuriated with himself when he realized how close he had been to killing his brother's girlfriend. The others went after him of course. They wanted to be sure he was fine. As if he was the one who could have been harmed. Edward and their parents stayed with Bella. It was just a cut. A small cut. It wasn't supposed to be a big deal. For everyone else it wasn't a big deal.

Only Jasper failed to keep control of himself.

Rosalie whispered that it was Bella and Edward's fault. That they should realize that no vampire should date a human. It wasn't natural. If he wouldn't turn her then he needed to let her go. Alice had tried to soothe him. Emmett tried to make light of things. Jasper remained quiet.

It wasn't until his brother packed his things and left after breaking up with his girlfriend that Jasper found the words to apologize. It was too late of course. Edward didn't blame him. It wasn't his fault. He'd simply reminded Edward of what needed to be done.

Jasper slipped away and let the angry and guilt driven tears fall. It would have hurt less if Edward had blamed him.

Bella,

I've struggled with what to say you since the night of your birthday. Things got so out of hand so fast, that I just figured I'd have time to make amends. But then Edward ran off, and well I thought it would be easier for everyone, especially you, and all right, myself, if I continued to keep a distance. What could I really say anyway? Sorry that the smell of your blood sent me into a frenzy? Sorry that my instinct was to attack you even though I'd already come to see you as family?

My words wouldn't change what happened that night. It wouldn't make my brother decide not to leave. It wouldn't take away the pain you were feeling because he took off. I am sorry though. For my lack of control, and for my inability to fix things before they got so out of hand.

I wish I could tell you I'm not a threat to you anymore, but that would be a lie. I've got a ways to go before I master the kind of control the rest of my family exhibits. I'm working on it though. I hope you understand why it's taken me this long to say this. I really am sorry.

-Jasper