CHAPTER THIRTY
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i. let's fall in love !

— THE DAY HAD BEGUN TO BLEED INTO NIGHT BY THE TIME EDWARD AND BELLA MADE AN APPEARANCE IN THE HOUSE AGAIN. Though it was almost certain they instantly regretted it.

"Edward, you're an idiot!" An angry voice greeted them as the owner of said voice entered the room, Alice and Jasper hot on the boy's heels.

Bella sighed, almost guessing the conversation to come.

"You took her tree climbing? Do you realize how uncoordinated she is? She struggles with her feet on the damn floor- when it comes to walking, this loser," He pointed to Bella, who shuffled awkwardly. "Is a few fries short of a happy meal, lemme tell you, and you decide to go rippin' up trees like some sort of rabid squirrel? Nah-uh, speed and height are not her forte my friend, we need to keep her as close to the ground as possible!" Anthony snapped out, taking a few deep breaths after.

"I'm sorry?" Edward offered, making Emmett, who had recently entered the room with Rosalie, snicker.

Tony nodded with a glare, "Damn right you're sorry, now go to your room."

"I'm driving Bella home."

"Then get in your fuckin' car and get gone." Tony mockingly made a gesture towards the door. Edward decided instead of arguing, he'd just get in his silver Volvo and leave.

Emmett continued to audibly laugh as Edward and Bella shuffled towards the door.

Sure, when you weren't on the receiving end of Anthony Swan's anger, it was hilarious. The things he said in anger meant nothing to him and it showed.

But when you were being yelled at, threatened or even looked at in a dirty way by Tony, you were nervous. That was just facts.

He may be thin and frail looking but at the same time some of his closest friends were either genius, ex army, or vampire, and what was that to say about him?

"If you crash the car on the way home, I'm gonna kill you." Tony stated as a last remark.

"What if he's already double dead?" Emmet asked, despite knowing that was highly unlikely.

"That's not gonna stop me." Anthony muttered coldly, watching the bronze haired vampire as he followed Bella out of the house while Alice laughed at the 'double dead' comment.

"Okay- I think that's enough anger from you tonight." Jasper spoke up, stepping behind Tony to wrap his arms carefully around the boy, trying to calm him down without his empathetic abilities.

"Woah- Jasper." Emmett's attention was caught by Jasper's arm, which was on full display. A rare occurrence.

Though Emmett probably wasn't pointing out that, but rather the paint along Jasper's arm.

The rough skin was caked in paint, the dark colours were a sharp contrast to his pale complexion.

Jasper peeked over Anthony's shoulder to look at the beautiful galaxy.

"That looks so cool, man." Emmett commented, leaning forward to see the painting better.

"Thanks." Tony said, leaning back into Jasper.

"You did that?" Rosalie asked.

Tony nodded.

"It's incredible."

Tony bit his lip awkwardly, glancing at the painted galaxy before grabbing Jasper's hand and pulling out of his grip.

"I should get home. Make sure Edward isn't being an ass or whatever." Anthony rolled his eyes.

Jasper allowed a small smirk to tug at his lips while he adoringly watched Tony pull him closer to the door.

"I guess I'm driving?" Jasper asked.

Tony's anger was completely gone by this time. He wasn't even sure if it was real anger in the first place.

"Please?" Tony stopped in his tracks.

Jasper chuckled and caught Emmett's keys as they flew through the air toward his head, sending a nod of thanks to Emmett for letting them use his Jeep again.

"Oh- shit, hang on I gotta grab my shirt." Tony remembered he was wearing Jasper's sweater and didn't want to leave behind the shirt that he'd been wearing the day before.

"I've got it," Rosalie stated before speeding up the stairs at an inhuman pace, then appearing in front of Tony with his grey long sleeve shirt in hand.

Her movement had caused a slight breeze to run through Anthony's hair, messing it up slightly.

But that was the least problematic thought in his mind.

He was frozen, and moved like a robot to grab the article of clothing from he blonde woman's hands.

"You okay there, Tone?" Emmett asked, furrowing his eyebrows worryingly.

Tony nodded stiffly.

"I've just- I mean, I-..." Tony tried his best to articulate an intelligent sentence. "All the vampire stuff has been just talk... I've not actually seen anything."

The vampires in the room all stayed silent, waiting for a reaction from Tony to try and gauge what his thoughts were on the topic.

"It's... cool. I guess." Tony shrugged. It was cool, the speed and strength they possessed was something straight out of one of his comic books. But he also had to think about the fact that they were vampires. They constantly thirsted for human blood.

'Cool' was the most respectful word he could muster.

"Hey, lets go." Jasper offered Tony a way out of the conversation.

"Yeah." Anthony agreed, hugging Alice before tucking himself under Jasper's unpainted arm and walking with him.

It was silent between the boys as they got situated in the Jeep, neither knowing what to say.

Jasper made sure Tony had his seatbelt on and had comfortably placed his oxygen tank on the floor of the vehicle before starting it up.

It took a few minutes just to get out of the driveway, out from under the overhang of trees and onto the main road, which was lined with street lamps.

As soon as they got on the road and small patters of rain sounded against the metal contraption, Anthony tapped a messy rhythm against the car door to compliment the weather's.

There was a slight tension between the boys. As if both wanted to say something, but didn't.

Jasper was growing more and more worried as he felt Anthony's emotions weigh in on him. Tony was apprehensive, at what, Jasper couldn't tell,

Finally, Tony spoke up against the lulling rain.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" He whispered, knowing fully well that Jasper would hear it.

The Hale took a moment to glance at Tony, trying desperately to find more signs of emotion.

"What idea?"

"Us. Are you sure 'us' is a good idea?." Tony fidgeted with the shirt that lie in his lap.

"Tony-" Jasper began to reassure Anthony, thinking maybe he was having second thoughts about the whole vampire thing.

"I mean- you're over a hundred years old, and you've been looking for your mate for so long and finally, you find that your mate- the person you're supposed to have an incredible bond with, is just a skinny little gay kid that's trying desperately to make the world his home." Anthony stared at the road ahead of them, while Jasper let him rant his feelings.

The kiss they'd shared earlier had obviously stirred something in him.

"And it won't be my home for long. I'm... dying. Fast. I'm dying faster than I thought- and I don't want to rob you of happiness just because you accidentally fell for a cancer patient. So I'm asking you if you think this is a good idea." Tony stated. "This is your out. You don't ever have to see me again and risk the pain that'll come with it. You can just drop me off at home and never talk to me again." He shook his head slowly and looked down at his oxygen tank, trying to hide his eyes behind his hair.

He didn't want Jasper to leave him.

He really didn't.

But he also knew that if Jasper fell in love with him, it was a set up for heartbreak.

He already knew there was nothing that could be done about his condition, and honesty becoming a vampire wasn't that appealing either. He wasn't about to ask to become a vampire just because he was scared of dying.

Him surviving despite cancer would raise questions in everyone he knew. How could he explain suddenly having been cured?

He would be different. He would thirst for human blood.

Humans.

Like his sister.

Or his father.

Or his friends from Phoenix.

If Tony physically hurt them the way he knows he'd want too, he'd be swallowed in guilt for the rest of his never ending life.

It wasn't appealing. It wouldn't be to anyone, he was sure.

In the middle of these far off thoughts, Anthony hadn't realized Jasper had pulled over to the side of the road.

"Anthony..," Jasper spoke softly, turning his full attention to the brunet in the passenger seat and even reaching over to grab his hand. "I'm not backing out." He said firmly.

"You should." Tony sighed, trying to wipe at his tear filled eyes.

He hated when he cried.

Every time he did, he heard those stupid kids in his head. Those bullies that wouldn't give him a break.

They'd tease him and call him names and when he cried they'd just tease him more.

"Boys aren't supposed to cry!" They would say.

He wasn't allowed to be emotional.

He wasn't allowed to be a lot of things when he was younger.

He couldn't be impulsive or weird, he couldn't wear pink or have anxiety without being ridiculed.

He wasn't even allowed to like guys.

How stupid was that?

Out of all the problems in the world it seemed like society was influencing generations of people to care less about equality or pollution and care more about who held hands with who.

And so, he still cried. Despite those mocking laughs in his head telling him to be a man.

He tried so hard to get them out. He tried telling them off or blocking them into the deeper parts of his mind.

Most times he felt like he was still that kid and he was just holding his hands up to his ears and chanting 'la la la' as an attempt to not hear them.

Thinking about all this, Anthony barely noticed the cold feeling against the side of his face. Though when Tony came around, he realized Jasper had pressed his lips to the side of Anthony's head.

"Fuck, Jazz." Tony groaned, throwing his head back with a small smile, still rubbing around his eyes making the skin an irritated red.

Jasper pulled back in confusion.

"I'm so into you, it's not fair." Anthony shook his head, a larger smile taking over his face.

"Your stupid hot voice and your pretty eyes and your perfect blond hair." Tony laughed. "You're so considerate and careful and kind and just- fuck- you're so wonderful and I hate you." His words were lighthearted, and his voice slightly teasing.

Jasper smiled lightly, an amused and awe-filled glint in his eyes.

"You aren't so bad, yourself." He said, moving his thumb along the back of Tony's hand. "You're so passionate. You're like some sort of Disney prince with extra shots of emotional baggage and crude humour."

"Hey, hey-" Tony laughed. "This emotional baggage? It's designer, okay. Only the height of emotional baggage for me." He said sarcastically.

Jasper smiled, amused at the boy's words, before it fell from his face seriously.

"Tony," he began. "I promise to help you carry that baggage. Until the end, I want to be there for you. I want to have the experience of falling in love with you. We owe each other that much." Jasper stated, turning his attention back to the road and beginning to drive again.

Anthony sighed and looked down at their intertwined fingers.

It took a few moments to get a reaction, Tony instead let the patter of rain fill the void of silence.

He knew it was only going to hurt in the end, but he really couldn't help it. Jasper and the other Cullens had become important to him now.

"Okay," he finally nodded, looking at Jasper with a calm and examining stare. "Let's fall in love."

author's note

That was really cheesy I'm sorry 😂

I just wanted to get out Tony's thoughts on vampires and a bit about the relationships he's got

This chapter is a little later than expected I've been spending a lot of time on that peter p fic aND setting up the outline I have planned for wdwg- there's a few things I have to figure out for future chapters and a bunch of decisions I have to make about the characters

I noticed not a lot of people have been pointing out the reasons behind Tony's powerful feminism- I'll have to focus in on it in the next chapter or something just to bring it back into consideration. It's probably gonna be important for later unless plans change

Also- this is chapter thirty!! I'm so proud of myself for even making it to thirty, normally I just stare at my writing and give up after the first chapter

It's all because of you guys, being so awesome and offering opinions and feedback- it's honestly is the best thing about WDWG for me. Just chatting with you makes my whole day ngl
👌🏻♥️