A while later Alice knocked on his door and told them that Bella would be coming over soon to talk to everyone, so Jasper and Maya reluctantly got up. Maya groaning the whole time, wanting only to stay in bed with Jasper. She slowly rolled off of him, taking the blanket with her in protest at having her sleep disturbed.
Her reluctance to get out of bed wasn't helped by the fact that her legs still felt like jelly, prompting her to crawl naked across the floor. Jasper glanced down at her with a smirk. "Something wrong Darlin'?"
She gave a frustrated huff, "Yes, it's been six months since I last had sex. Forgive me if I am a little out of practice on how to walk after it."
He laughed at that and proceeded to bend down and lift her into his arms to carry her towards the bathroom for a shower. Jasper helped her wash up which led to a wonderful round of shower sex with her pressed up against the tile, moaning his name as she came.
When they finally got out, she slipped into Jasper's closet to steal one of his shirts that went down to mid thigh. After that she rifled through his drawers to see if any of her clothes were still there, idly noting that going by the way it was organized Jasper probably owed Rosalie a thank you for getting most of his stuff set up for him.
"You know I was very mad to discover that you stole my clothes when you left? I mean you had one of my favourite dresses in your closet."
"My apologies ma'am. But I did leave you a pile of my sweatshirts and hoodies as payment."
"Hm, that's true. They are very comfy. Although I did get yelled at by a teacher for wearing one with some of my shorts. Apparently, it looked like I had nothing on underneath." She finally found the drawer he had put her undergarments in and slipped on a pair of underwear. She then moved over to find a pair of work out shorts to slide over them.
"You what?" Jasper came up behind and turned her around, grabbing her chin and tilting it up so she looked at him.
"Yeah. I got told to change into the leggings I wear for gym" she shrugged carelessly, not really seeing a problem with her getting into trouble.
(Anyone else ever have this happen to them? Because it is not my fault that my favourite hoodies just so happen to be too big on me and I go to a school where one class you melt and the next you freeze.)
"Are you telling me that you essentially went to school dressed like this, where a whole bunch of lust filled boys could see you?" his voice was dangerously calm. Normally this would not set him off so badly, but their bond had been stretched these past few months and the thought of her looking like this in front of others while he wasn't there was sending his possessiveness through the roof.
Maya was beginning to inwardly curse at her mention of this incident and decided to leave out the fact that no less than four boys had tried to grope her that day and three other boys had asked her out. "Yes?"
"You will not do that again" it was not a question, but an order. And if the flecks of red that she spotted in his eyes was any indicator, Major agreed with Jasper.
Which reminded Maya that she would have to do some catching up with Major at a later date. Perhaps she could even tell him how else she had misbehaved while he was away. Surely he would think of some deliciously wonderful ways to punish her for wearing Paul's shirt the first time she met the shifters. But then again, he also had a tendency to punish her through denial if he thought she was teasing him, so maybe not.
Maya nodded her head, fighting down a smirk as she continued to weight the pros and cons of teasing the Jasper and Major. "Mm hm. Whatever you say Jas."
"Good" and with that he picked her up to carry downstairs.
"Do you intend to carry me everywhere from now on?"
He laughed, "yes. I have a lot of missed time to make up for."
She smiled at him, wrapping her own arms around his neck and snuggling into him, "Good. Because this might just be my favourite place in the world. Your arms are very comfy."
There moment was broken by Emmet and his very loud wolf whistle which just made Maya laugh, even as she continued to very obviously ignore the Cullen siblings she was not mated to. And Jasper, being the wonderful mate that he was, did his part in helping her do that by moving to the back of the room. When he stopped by the doors and set her down, she immediately pulled his arms back around her and leaned back against him. She had spent months without him and figured that she had a lot of cuddles, hugs, and just simple pleasure from being in his arms to catch up on.
She also knew Bella was going to bring more drama with her the moment she began to talk, that girl always seemed to attract it somehow, and wanted Jasper there to help keep her calm. But for the moment she relaxed, enjoying the peace that came with being in her Cowboy's arms as they waited for Bella and Edward to reach the living room.
When Bella came down the stairs, Edward behind her, she stopped a few before the bottom so she was looking down at everyone. "You all know what I want. And I know how much I'm asking for. The only thing I can think of for it to be fair is to just vote."
"You don't know what you're talking about" Edward cut in.
Maya mentally rolled her eyes, wow five seconds in the room and already the drama starts. That has to be some kind of record for them.
"Shut up" Bella said sharply, "this is my meeting. Alice?"
Alice skipped up to her, giving her a hug saying, "I already consider you my sister. Yes." If keeping her family together meant adding Bella, then so be it. Alice would just have to watch her visions more carefully from now on and work twice as hard on Bella's horrible fashion sense.
"Thank you" Bella said, happy the first vote went her way.
"I'm sorry", surprisingly Rosalie was the next to speak up, "I'm really sorry to both of you for how I've acted. And I'm really grateful that you were brave enough to go and save my brother but this isn't a life I would have chosen for myself. And I wish that there had been someone to vote no for me, so, no."
"I vote hell yeah!" Emmet said breaking the tension and picking Bella up to spin her around, "And we can pick a fight with these Volturi some other way." Truthfully, Emmet really didn't care one way or the other so long as his family was happy. But he wasn't going to lie and say he didn't think it was a perk that he would be getting someone new to spar with and a newborn that might present a challenge in terms of strength was just a bonus.
Maya closed her eyes at this, silently promising herself that she would never let Emmet and her family meet. That would be just asking for trouble. Especially Emmet, Felix and Demetri. That combination might just end the world as they know it. Or at the very least drive everyone else to insanity. Which normally she wouldn't mind, but given that she was just as likely to be a target as anyone, self-preservation was kicking in.
"It would be nice to not want to kill you all the time. But my own convenience is not enough reason to turn someone. I don't think you know what you are asking for or what you are getting yourself into." Jasper finished with a small grimace, while Edward gave him a strange look from across the room. Probably because while he had been kind about saying no, what he had actually been thinking was something his roots as a southern gentleman would never allow him to say in the presence of ladies.
Bella made a sound at that, angry that someone else had said no to her. More than that she was pissed that Jasper thought she couldn't handle it. She was sure she wouldn't be weak like him and would be able to control herself perfectly.
They looked at Maya then, still resting in Jasper's arms. "Since I know this vote is pointless and Bella will be changed either way, I'm going to be honest. I don't think you should be changed. If I have learned anything while living with you these past few months Bella its that you are impulsive, don't think things through, and you don't ever consider the consequences for your actions. Which is why I say no, because I don't think you have really thought about what it means to be a vampire besides never having to age."
As Bella opened her mouth to say something, Maya held up her hand and cut her off. "You can't convince me otherwise. Not when the only thing I ever hear you mention when you talk about turning is spending forever with Edward or always looking young and beautiful. You have never even considered the fact that you would have to leave everyone who is not in this room behind, have you? That you would have to leave Dad and Renee behind and never see them again. Never talk to them again. Because that is what you will have to do. Yes, Dad knows about the supernatural, but not specifics, and his daughter suddenly gaining red eyes will certainly bring up questions we can't answer. At least not without breaking the law and putting him at risk. So no, I believe that you should not become a vampire. At least not until you recognize that being one means leaving behind the wonderful family you already have. But again, this is not my choice. Nor is it anyone else's because the Volturi has commanded that we turn you, so turned you shall be."
"Of course, that's what you would say. You spent the whole time we were there happily cuddling with that blond monster! Never mind that they were trying to kill Edward and me!" Bella was pissed that even one Cullen, let alone two, had denied her what was rightfully hers and was now taking it out on girl who always seemed to get what she wanted and deserved. The girl who had apparently known about vampires since they were children and never told her. She could have gone along with Maya and gotten close to Volturi as a child just like she did. Then they would have loved her more than they did Maya and probably would have been fighting over who got the privilege of turning her. But no, that stray had to keep all the vampires to herself and couldn't share.
"Bella, 'those monsters' as you call them, are the vampire kings, YOUR future kings. Kings who have been smart enough, strong enough, and powerful enough to maintain their position for over a thousand years. But more than that, they are my family and I will not apologize for caring for them. Especially not when you and Edward seemed determined to insult them and paint them as the villains of your story when they were only following the laws laid out to protect us from discovery."
"They were going to kill us!" Bella screeched.
"Yes, and that would have been their right. I would have argued against it and fought if uncle Aro were to actually make a move instead of just playing with you, but contrary to what Carlisle has led you to believe; there are rules for vampires. What he has allowed Edward to do is against our laws and if the kings wanted they could destroy this entire family for them. And what's more, no one would say anything because they made these laws centuries ago and they are not going to change just because you think you are someone special or are destined to be turned. Edward and the rest of us may have unknowingly given you the message that you were somehow special but you are not. You are not an exception to the rule, you are breaking it and because of this and Carlisle's refusal to properly teach Edward, this whole family will be killed if we do not do as the Volturi have ordered. So you will be turned, just as you wanted, no matter what anyone says or what our opinions are. Even if I have to find a vampire to turn you myself because I will not see this family killed because you and Edward are acting like spoiled children."
Truthfully Maya's heart hurt at having to call out Carlisle and his leadership like this, but this was a hard truth they all had to hear. There was only so far her family's love for her and their old friendship with Carlisle would go before the kings were forced to put the secrecy of their world above the ties they had to her and the Cullens. She understood why Carlisle had stood back and allowed it; he wanted his son and the first person had had ever turned to find happiness. But she would not allow him to forget that he had a responsibility to the other members of his family as well.
"I AM NOT A CHILD!" Bella shrieked, enraged that Maya would talk to her like this.
"Then don't act like one. Act like the adult you are and for once in your life think about the needs of others." Maya told her, she was completely done with all Bella's bullshit. "You dug and you dug because you just had to discover what this family was hiding and you didn't care what the consequences were. You didn't stop for even a moment to consider why vampires hide away or what might happen if you found out. So I am telling you now Bella; Welcome to the real world. Here the kings are not the bad guys and you and Edward will obey the laws or we all get punished."
Edward had been snarling at her the entire time, only restraining himself because the moment he had even leaned in her direction Jasper had fixated on him. Angry as he was, he wasn't brave enough to challenge Jasper head on. However as Maya wound down he couldn't stop himself from opening his mouth.
"You say that like you don't have the power to stop all this from happening in the first place" he spit.
Maya threw her hands up at this, done with those two refusing to see the truth. "I don't" she cried. "My family and their laws serve a purpose; to keep monsters like James from getting out of control. They can't go around changing the laws on a whim! Not even for those they care about. The only reason they are still in charge is because they only interfere when those laws are broken and when they do, they come down hard on the rule breaker. To change that and begin giving out pardons would be the same and taking away the rules entirely, no one would follow them and plenty of vampires that restrain themselves for fear of the consequences would go wild!"
The whole family stared at her as she finished her rant. Her entire speech had shocked many of them and none of them really knew what to say to her as she finished. Well, Bella had something to say and opened her mouth to continue the argument but Esme cut her off in an effort to redirect everyone back to original conversation.
"I will be voting yes" She said simply with a smile. She felt no need to tell the girl that it was Maya mentioning the king's order that had convinced her. Like Maya, she believed that the child had no idea what she was signing up for and would eventually come to regret leaving behind her parents. But as selfish as it was, Esme was choosing her family. She had lost one child already, she would not lose another if she could help it.
Carlisle stepped forward to speak then, the last to vote, although he aimed it mostly at Edward instead of Bella.
"Why are you doing this to me? You know what this means" Edward asked, looking pained.
"You've chosen to bring her into this world. I won't lose my family." Edward looked away at that, unable to say anything in the face of his father figure's disappointment.
The meeting came to an end shortly after that when it was decided that Carlisle would change Bella after graduation. Everyone slowly moving off to do their own thing as Edward went to return Bella home before Charlie noticed she was missing.
Jasper and Maya returned to his room to snuggle back into bed together. Neither of them really wanted to talk about what had just happened. Both had reservations about Bella's turning and the fact that she was still not Edwards mate but they said nothing about it knowing that she would have to be turned one way or another.
Instead, Jasper brought out the chocolate Esme had picked up for Maya as an apology and once again restated his promise to never leave her again. A little while after that the Cullen siblings, minus Edward who was with Bella, also invaded Jasper's room to apologize for leaving without saying goodbye.
While none of them brought chocolate, they did bring in some of Esme's homemade cooking, which forced Maya to forgive them. They spent the rest of the night laughing and catching up on all that they had missed. Emmet in particular had spent a lot of time discussing with her the pranks she had played on the wolves and was excited to help her to plan more.
As the sun came up they were all still chatting together, Maya curled up in Jasper's arms as they did, happy to have her friends back finally.