Completed Fic of the Week: 3/5/12

March 08, 2012

Just Breathe by jtmd24
Review by AnonymouslySufferingFromOCD

Rating: M
Genre: Drama/Romance
Characters: Edward & Bella

Summary: What happens when the man you've loved for 6 years starts to change right before your eyes? Bella is forced to question her heart when the black sheep of the family returns. In the end, will she put her trust in the right person? AR/OOC/lemons


Just Breathe, offers up a completely unique twist to the vampires in Twilight.  The story starts off with Bella as a senior in college.  It has many similarities to original Twilight, such as every night a vampire sneaks into Bella’s bedroom window to watch her sleep.  She had also met said vampire, shortly after moving to Forks to live with her dad in her junior year of high school.
Of course, there are a number of differences, too. First, obviously Bella is in college and hasn’t been turned into a vampire yet.  Add to that the fact that the Cullen family dynamic isn’t what we are used to, and one very important family member hasn’t lived with them for over fifteen years.  That is right, we start off the story with Edward being nowhere in sight, don’t fret though, Bella hasn’t even met him yet. 
When the story begins, Jasper is the vampire Bella is dating. Don’t worry though, I promise this is an Edward and Bella story, it just takes them a little while to get there, as our beloved vampire is a bit difficult in this story.  Edward left the Cullen’s fifteen years prior due to differences in feeding styles.  Just remember things aren’t always what they seem.
All I could do was stand there in shock.
This guy...this man with the golden eyes that practically threw me across the room...this was Edward. This was the Cullen no one spoke of who had been gone for a decade and a half.
While the two of them stood there throwing testosterone all over the room, I took a moment to study him.
My first thought was that he looked nothing like Jasper. Which was incredibly stupid since vampires were made, not born into families. I spent too much time around Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and Jasper, who all seemed to share some sort of physical characteristics. From everyone except Esme having dirty blonde hair or the fact that every one of them shared some shade of green in their eyes.

Edward was the only one who actually looked "adopted". His messy bronze hair was in complete contrast to Jasper's dirty blonde wavy hair that never had a piece out of place. He was taller than Jasper by at least six inches, and where Jasper was more of a lover than a fighter and didn't necessarily have a six-pack or bulging biceps, Edward's muscles were understated, but you knew they were there by the way his long-sleeved t-shirt clung to his arms and his abs.
Like I said this is an Edward and Bella story, and Bella isn’t a cheater, either. Unfortunately her world, which she thought was perfect, takes an unexpected turn and she starts to not only doubt Jasper’s feelings for her but also if Jasper is the person or vampire she thought he was.
"Oh my God I am so sorry! I was totally not looking where I was going," a female voice said.
I made my way around the front of Jasper's car and found him kneeling down with a woman who had her back to me, helping her pick up some papers she had dropped.
They both stood up as I got closer and she turned to face me. She was about our age, but she reminded me of a pixie. She was tall and willowy, with beautiful porcelain skin and short, jet-black hair.
She stuck her hand out to me as I got to the other side of the car. "Hi! I'm Alice! I'm a total klutz and just ran into your brother," she explained.
Jasper laughed before I could make a comment.
"This is actually my girlfriend Bella. And I'm Jasper. It's nice to meet you ma'am," he said politely as Alice dropped my hand and then shook his.
And held onto it for a little bit longer than necessary.
"Wow, I'm sorry about that too then!" she said with a laugh.
"I just moved to town and my brain just isn't all there yet," she explained.
I was really enjoying this gripping conversation but I needed to get to class. And no, I wasn't jealous. I don't get jealous. I am completely secure with how Jasper feels about me.
Alice was still talking about her move here and how she didn't know anyone and blah blah blah. I glanced down at my watch and cleared my throat a little.
Jasper looked over at me and I nodded my head towards school.
"Oh sorry, Bella needs to get to English and I need to get to History," Jasper explained to Alice.
"History 207? With professor Whitlock?" Alice asked excitedly. "That's exactly where I was headed."
Oh joy.
They both looked at me and I realized I was the odd man out.
"You know what, it's fine. I'm just going to run ahead. I need to drop a book off at the library and you guys need to get to the other side of campus for history."
This really is a great story. It is well written and really challenges our favorite characters to stretch themselves beyond the norm.  I love that jtmd24’s vampires aren’t Stephanie Meyer’s vampires; they actually have pieces of a number of different vampires that most of us have read.  Edward, is a bit more rash and opinionated than we are used to and Bella has a bit more backbone.  The biggest shock is Alice and Jasper, but I will let you learn about them for yourselves.  After all you wouldn’t want me to give all the secrets away now would you? I hope you enjoy the story, I know I did.

1 comments:

  1. Tara Sivec said...:

    Thank you so much!

Post a Comment