LOG oo1; Jasper and Crysta...wherever they happen to be.

[feelingthirsty]

Who: Jasper and Crysta
What: discussing Beowulf in class
When: ...you know, I'm not actually sure
Where: a university classroom in Chicago
Info: In which Crysta is nearly late to class and, Jasper is a grumpbucket, but he could be worse.

Who: Jasper, Crysta, and a very foolish mugger
What: a mugger has a very bad night
When: later that night,

Comments

[feelingthirsty]

Although Jasper wasn't usually one to duck his head and hide from an uncomfortable situation, he did consider himself intelligent enough to know when he should step out of the way and avoid a potentially bad one. He wasn't sure how Crysta felt. He wasn't sure, therefor, how to act around her, what to say, what to keep to himself. This was worse than a potential situation, this was a potential disaster, if it hadn't breached that wall already. Jasper wasn't going to risk it anymore. There were too many variables, not enough input. There weren't enough contingency plans in the world to cover all his bases with that girl.

And so he did the unthinkable, and emailed his professor about a bug going around. Oh wonders of technology. He knew he couldn't avoid Crysta forever, but a week or so should help him find his bearings back, at least. She didn't have his number or his address, and neither did anyone else. He wasn't hiding from her, per se, just giving them both a chance to take a step back from one another and reevaluate what they were

[crystamaye]

That night when she got home, her facade crumbled. She hadn't realized how much she willed herself to stay together for the sake of Jasper. Crysta knew instinctively that if she had acted the wrong way Jasper would have been long gone forever. Though he probably saw her indifference as annoying. She leaned over the counter in her kitchen when she returned to her dark apartment, steadying her breath as she fully absorbed the impact of the confession she had received earlier

[feelingthirsty]

Jasper narrowed his eyes at her. He was one hundred and sixty-eight, going on a thousand. If he wanted to skip an undergraduate English class or two, he could damn well do it.

He briefly considered closing the door and walking away, but knew even before the thought had completed itself in his head that he wouldn't. He simply didn't do things like that--to anyone but Edward, anyway, who was massively invasive even in his most unobtrusive of times. Although maybe now was the time to make an exception.

Instead he ended up pulling the door open for her to come inside. He wasn't having this conversation with the sun shining in his eyes and playing across his skin like a damned wind chime.

"Come on."

[crystamaye]

Crysta arched a brow at the invitation, stepping in when he open the door wider. Her eyes were drawn to his skin as the sun briefly did something odd and danced across him like he was made of glass or diamond. That was...interesting. Though everything was when it came to Jasper. But just as quickly, is was gone because he shut the door behind her.

It wasn't hard to tell he was mad about her being there, but at least he hadn't disappeared completely, which she found relieving. She relaxed slightly as she looked over at his face, which seemed to be drawn into a sort of scowl. "Look, I'm sorry I came over unannounced, I was just.." She paused, dropping her arms from where she had crossed them defensively. "I was worried about you."

[feelingthirsty]

Jasper had been scowling at her, rather gratuitously, but his expression softened into a disbelieving frown at her explanation, or lack of one.

"I'm about the last thing on the planet you should be worried about."

His hand was still on the doorknob. He let it slip free and led her into the living room, where stacks of books around the couch and the armchair gave away his most prominent hobby. But the furniture was impersonal; the apartment had come with it, and Jasper hadn't intended to stay long enough to bother with his own.

"What is it you wanted?"

[crystamaye]

"I'm not sure exactly." Crysta peered around at the books with interest as she followed behind him, really it was amazing how many he had, and she itched to flip through every title. Instead she looked back at him and sighed. "Seeing as it doesn't look like you've packed anything, I can stop worrying about you deciding to leave."

Which, she concluded, was her biggest fear. Just as suddenly as he had become part of her life, having him just as quickly disappear would be somehow...devastating. The word seemed a tad extreme, but she knew it would be, she wouldn't lie to herself anymore about things.

[feelingthirsty]

"If I had intended to leave, I'd be long gone by now."

Jasper didn't mean it as a threat, although it came out rather gruffly. Matter-of-factly. She underestimated what an uncaring bastard he could be.

He gripped his elbows in his hands and stood near the television to look at her, that awkward feeling beginning to creep up his spine again, as much from the lack of an aura in the room as from his abysmal lack of hosting skills. This had always been Alice's forte, not his. He didn't have people over.

"How did you find this place?"

[crystamaye]

Crysta ignored his comment, it was best for her to let him go on as such when he seemed to be in one of his moods. She blinked over at him when he asked that question though. "Uh, Jasper, how do you think I found you?" Should it have not been obvious? Really, it had been easy. When she decided to find him, she had just hopped in her car and drove until she knew this was where he lived. Simple actually. And just a tad worrisome. Why did she have this pull to him? Jasper had to be special...

[feelingthirsty]

Jasper stared at her. He didn't often feel as if he were the one missing something, but evidently something had slipped by, because it wasn't obvious to him at all. She was a human. His name was not listed in any directory, on- or offline, nor had he given it out to anyone outside of his family. Unless...

"Did you track me here? Like a homing beacon?"

He hadn't considered that her gift, as raw and unfocused as it was, could possibly be so powerful.

[crystamaye]

Why was he staring? Homing beacon? She had to blink at that. "Ah, if that's what you want to call it...then yeah, I guess so?" She rubbed the back of her head, uncomfortable now. "I donno. I told you before, I always seem to know where you are Jas..." And that sounded creepy. Jeez. Her cheeks flushed the slightest bit. "I don't know why, but anyways, I was just able to find you here was all."

[feelingthirsty]

Changes in mood Jasper was unable to pick up on, but changes in heartbeat were as obvious to him as if Crysta had verbally announced her nervousness, complete with an appealing flush to accompany it. He had to look away before he could become distracted. Had it really been two weeks since his last human meal?

"So if I were to leave right now," he said with a gesture at the door, "you would be able to follow? How far?"

He didn't like this idea. Alice could find him once he'd decided where to go, but even among vampires, she was the only one. Perhaps one of the Volturi's trackers could hunt him down, if they were so inclined, but he'd managed to fly just below their radar so far, and wasn't worried. But a human? An untrained human? What would she be able to do if she was turned?

[crystamaye]

Crysta frowned a tad. "Er, I donno. You're always at the back of my mind, but if I focus I can usually tell where about you are. It's more like...a tug in your direction than an actual knowing of your exact location. Though I can usually tell how far away you are too." Crysta shrugged. She had no idea really, it was all new to her and that was about all she had gathered from it thus far. He had a calculated look on his face and she hoped he wasn't really about to test that whole leaving and following thing.

[feelingthirsty]

For a moment Jasper could only stare. Oh what Maria would have given to find this girl down south a century ago, someone who could not only track a rival coven, but who could say how far off they were and in what direction at any given time--as a human! The Volturi mustn't learn of her, there was no telling how they'd make use of such potential. Probably to keep an eye on talents like Edward or Alice and their freshly turned and easily impressionable mates, and Jasper knew for a fact that neither of them would appreciate such scrutiny

[crystamaye]

Crysta felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny, especially when a look of shock quickly passed his features. "I don't feel anything Jasper." She shook her head, confused as to what he wanted from her. It's not as if she could tell what he was thinking and she could never tell what mood he was in unless he let her see briefly on his face. "I just have this unexplainable connection to you and only you." Why was it him that she was drawn to? There had to be an explanation for that, but she didn't have it. He spoke as though he was analyzing her, almost clinical. Did it have to do with what he was? She doubted that, mostly because she had this odd feeling in her gut telling her it was more than that.

[feelingthirsty]

Now it was Jasper's turn to feel uncomfortable. Him and only him? Why? Powers didn't work like that; powers were universal. She had to be mistaken. But that gave him the impression that she'd never experience anything like this before, which in turn made him wonder again: why him? What had he done to catch her attention so thoroughly?

He ran a hand through his hair somewhat awkwardly. Did she have a crush on him? He couldn't tell. Damn this emotional block of hers, he was like a fish out of water in her presence, flopping about blindly on the shore.

"I'm sure it's not just with me," he reasoned aloud. That just made no sense. "It can't be. These things don't work that way." He hoped.

[crystamaye]

"Well, you would know I suppose." Crysta shrugged. Obviously he had more experience with the supernatural than she did. "Though I don't much care for it..." It was odd, always being drawn to him this way. It made their situation that more bizarre and complicated.

Besides, how was her strange 'power' the topic again? Shouldn't they have been discussing other things? Though, she doubted he wanted to discuss that with her again, seeing as last time he seemed to have drawn back more. Inwardly she sighed. What was the point of all this? She recalled the saying, everything happens for a reason. She had yet to figure out the reason of their relationship.