When she saw Jasper behind Tobias, (Y/n) knew she had to leave. Whatever Tobias had to say would have to wait, or he could choke on it for all (Y/n) cared, he had been an asshole and she didn't plan on forgiving him any time soon. He was the least of her concerns right now.

(Y/n) did feel sorry for her sister though, whom she had left behind with barely a word of excuse and a goodbye, before sprinting away in the hopes of escaping the trio chasing after her.

Sprinting wasn't going to save (Y/n) for much longer though, Infected people were much faster than she was and had much more endurance as well. It was only a matter of time before Jasper or Tobias caught up to her. Which is why (Y/n) needed to find Lupita as soon as possible and get the fuck away from this godforsaken party.

Something that was easier said than done considering the massive amount of people filling the ballroom.

(Y/n) frantically entered the ballroom and surveyed the refreshment table, letting out a frustrated groan at the realization that Lupita was nowhere to be seen.

Gosh, Lupita had probably had more than enough time to get their drinks, come back to their original spot and see that (Y/n) had left the room. (Y/n) could only hope that Lupita hadn't left without her and had actually waited for her in their dark corner. Because (Y/n) had no time to search the entire room for Lupita.

She risked a quick glance behind her shoulder, cold adrenaline flaring inside of her at the sight of Jasper just a few feet away, struggling to make his way through the crowd. She couldn't see Tobias, but she knew he mustn't have been very far.

Shit.

She glanced back towards the corner where Lupita had left her, apprehension thick in her veins. And fortunately for (Y/n), Lupita was standing there, already looking at her with an alarmed expression. A wave of relief washed over (Y/n) and she hastily made her way over to Lupita.

"What took so long? I was this close to come and check up on you." Lupita said with a relieved sigh, gently holding (Y/n)'s forearms as if checking her for signs of harm. "How'd it go? With your sister?"

(Y/n) had no idea how Lupita knew of her reunion with Grey, but she guessed Lupita must have seen Grey dragging her away from the party and had connected the dots. This would also explain why she had been so chill in waiting for her instead of searching for her. She knew (Y/n) would come back eventually.

What she didn't know though, was that they had no time to dwell on (Y/n)'s discussion with Grey. They had to leave, fast.

(Y/n) shot Lupita an alarmed glance, taking her hands in hers and giving them an urgent squeeze. Jasper was getting closer and closer and they really needed to run.

"I'll tell you when we get home, but we have to lea-"

"(Y/n)!"

No. No, no, no, no, no! (Y/n) cursed internally as Jasper's voice cut her off, sounding way too close for comfort. She didn't even have time to face him before strong arms wrapped around her from behind and pulled her away from Lupita.

"Are you alright? Did anyone do anything to you?" Jasper asked frantically as he tightened his hold on her and spun her around so she'd face him, concern written all over his features. He scanned her up and down before engulfing her in his embrace, his shoulders slumping in relief. "Gosh, I was so worried."

(Y/n) didn't know what had gotten Jasper so worked up, but it didn't matter at this moment, she needed to get away from him. His hug was getting increasingly stifling and overwhelming the more he tightened his arms around her. It was only a matter of time before he expelled all the air from her lungs and suffocated her.

"Let-Let go!" (Y/n) tried to scream, punching her hands against his chest in a fruitless attempt to get away from him. Which of course didn't work, because much like Infected were much faster than Uninfected, they were also much stronger. (Y/n) had known this, she had already gotten a taste of this during her interactions with Tobias, but only now did she realize just how weak she was in comparison to an Infected.

Nothing she did could ever rival Jasper's strength.

"Get your hands off of her!" Lupita hit him too, kicking his legs and trying to get him to move, but Jasper must have been too caught up in hugging (Y/n) for him to notice or care.

(Y/n) felt like a mouse stuck in a cat's paws, thrashing for survival without any hopes of making it out.

Tears of frustration stung the corners of her eyes as she continued to hit Jasper's chest, her punches getting more and more sluggish from both exhaustion and despair.

"Let me go!" (Y/n) cried louder, voice breaking with a sob, but nothing could make him let go of her, until Tobias strongly pushed Jasper away with a venomous glare.

"Go!" Was all (Y/n) heard from Tobias as he gestured for both her and Lupita to leave while he threw a punch in Jasper's face.

Penelope arrived soon after, too late to catch up to her Darling and too stunned by the blood running down her best friend's nose to do anything but stare at the scene in utter shock and incomprehension.

"What's wrong with you!" Penelope cried at Tobias, helplessly trying to stop Jasper's nosebleed. And she would have kicked his ass if he hadn't run off so fast, barely acknowledging her.

Jasper grunted and removed his mask to focus on massaging his nose with his fingers, unbothered by the blood on his hands and the metallic taste on his tongue. He was used to it after years of murdering people for his father. He wasn't too focused on the pain radiating from his nose either. No, Jasper was way too devastated by how his perfect night had turned out for him to care about his physical condition.

Not only had his plans been shaken by Penelope's declaration that (Y/n) was in danger, but it had also been crushed when (Y/n) had so brutally refused his embrace and any contact with him.

She had run away when she saw him. She had punched and hit him to try and get away from him.

No wonder Tobias had felt the need to punch him in the face, he had probably thought that Jasper was a danger for (Y/n) based on her reaction, and had tried to protect his cousin or sister, as any good Protective would do.

But Jasper would never harm his Darling! He loved her and wanted what's best for her! It hurt him that she failed to see it and acknowledge it.

What had he done wrong for her to reject him so viscerally?

"Jasper, we need to get you to the nurse." Penelope said, tugging on his arm to drag him away from the ballroom. But Jasper was too stuck in his own head to even take notice.

He hadn't even been holding (Y/n) that hard, just the normal amount for a very concerned and relieved lover. It shouldn't have been so hard for her to push him away herself, so why hadn't she done so? Why had all her attempts seemed so weak in his hold? Of course (Y/n) would be weaker than him, she was shorter and less muscular, but still, even considering that she still seemed to be unnaturally feeble.

"Jasper?" Penelope asked once again, frustration laced in her tone. She was tired and her night had gone worse than she could have ever imagined. The last thing she needed was to shout for Jasper to acknowledge her. She wanted to leave and go home, do her skincare, wash her hair, get in her pajamas and crawl under her blankets.

"Jasp- Hey!" Penelope choked on her call of his name, the air pushed out of her lungs as Jasper engulfed her in a tight hug. She didn't know what the hell was wrong with him but she was way too fed up to play the attentive best friend and be his shoulder to cry on. She too had seen her plans with (Y/n) completely fucked.

"Can you try and push me away?" Jasper asked softly, and now Penelope was positively convinced that something was wrong with her best friend.

Duh, as if you even needed to ask. She thought and forcefully shoved him away from her with a groan.

"Thank you." Jasper said thoughtfully, silently pondering before looking up in her eyes. "How easy was it for you to push me away?"

Penelope frowned and tilted her head to the side, getting more and more suspicious of her best friend's behaviour. She knew Tobias had punched him in the nose and that he was losing a good amount of blood, but not enough for him to go crazy, right?

"Uhm, I don't know? Fairly easy?"

"Right." Jasper concluded, glad Penelope had been able to confirm his thoughts.

(Y/n) would have been very capable of pushing him away herself, it wasn't normal for her to be so weak in comparison to him, even considering her build. So why hadn't she been able to do so?

Though, now that he thought about it, this wasn't the only anormal thing Jasper had noticed about his Darling. Starting with the fact that he hadn't been able to find even a trace of her in the city's administrative files, something that at first hadn't bothered him too much. Except maybe it should have.

Maybe Jasper should have known something was different about his Darling when he first learnt about this. Maybe then he would have been able to connect the dots quicker.

For a smart man, he sure hadn't been the sharpest on this one.

But it all made sense now that he thought about it. His sweet Darling not being mentioned in any of his files, her being abnormally weak in comparison to him, her being so vehement on avoiding him and not reciprocating his tender affections... Jasper could see it clearly now.

(Y/n) was Uninfected.

That said, of course she wouldn't understand his ways, of course she'd be scared of him and of course she'd want to have nothing to do with him. She had probably been deluded into thinking that Infected were a threat to her safety and integrity! Well, Sadistics were, but most Infected only wanted what was best for (Y/n)'s kind, or those who had been deprived of the Infection. Jasper included!

He only wanted what was best for her. Only wanted to love and cherish and worship her.

And he would make sure that (Y/n) realized this soon enough.