Hey everyone! This is my first Twilight saga fanfic. Please keep in mind that this story begins when Bella returns from Italy after saving Edward and goes from there. Let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the associated characters. All characters/settings/etc. are property of S. Meyer.

Chapter 1: Recovered

Bella laid her head on her soft pillow, closing her eyes as she allowed her mind to replay her most recent adventure. She recalled flashes of red all around her as she sprinted past the robe-clad festival goers. She remembered how her body ached, every muscle, every breath, painful as she ran. She remembered holding him in her eyes, the bright rays of sun reflecting off of his beautiful skin. And she remembered crashing into him, the feel of holding him in her arms again…the feel of his touch.

"Bella?"

His gentle voice shook her out of her reverie as she looked up at him with her chocolate brown eyes. To see him again felt like a gift, to have him here next to her was a divine reward…a reward for what, she did not know. She never felt like she deserved him, never quite felt like she was good enough.

"What's wrong? You look worried…"

Once again she was shaken from her thoughts by his voice.

"No, no I'm okay. Sorry…I'm just…just tired I guess." She offered, hoping he hadn't been able to read her eyes and see the more troubled thoughts that swam through her mind.

"You should get some sleep. You've been halfway around the world and back in three days, I'd be worried if you weren't tired."

He gave her a small, crooked smile as he placed a cool hand on her cheek, looking into her eyes. She offered a small smile in return and nodded her head, pulling the blanket over herself as Edward settled next to her on the bed. She fidgeted with the hem of the blanket, turning her eyes up at him.

"Please don't go. Don't leave me again." She whispered, her voice barely audible, but she knew he'd be able to hear it.

"Bella," he sighed, tucking a stray hair behind her ear, "I won't leave you unless you ask it of me. I promise. Now get some rest." He smiled at her, that smile she loved and had missed so much, and she closed her eyes and let sleep consume her.

Bella's weary eyes were pried open by the lazy streaks of sun that reached into her bedroom. She turned her head and saw Edward still perched on the edge of her bed staring out the window, obviously deep in thought as he hadn't noticed she was awake. She gazed up at him, a delicate smile gracing her features as she took in his handsome face. Her smile faltered. Something didn't feel right. She couldn't really put her finger on it, it was a subtle, buried feeling but she didn't understand it. She hadn't felt it when she had looked up at Edward last night. It was a new feeling…and she didn't like it. She narrowed her eyes in confusion, trying to identify the feeling.

"Good morning," Edward greeted her after finally noticing she was awake.

"Morning" Bella replied, quickly wiping the confused look off her face as she offered Edward a smile and curled up against him. She really hoped he didn't notice the confused, panicked look on her face, but her hopes fell at his next words.

"Is everything okay? You looked a little troubled. Bad dreams?" He smiled at her, running a cold hand through her hair.

A dream! That was it! His words had brought to life the dream she had had that night…a dream of Jacob Black.

"Something like that…" She finally replied to him, hoping he wouldn't press the issue.

She closed her eyes, remembering Jacob's face from her dream. He had looked so sad, forgotten. And she knew why. She had left him here, after everything he had done for her. She abandoned him while he was begging her to stay. How could she not dream of him after hurting him like that? She shut her eyes tighter, hoping the image of his face would fade from her mind. It didn't.

"Bella…are you sure you're alright?" Edward asked, sitting her up and fixing her with a worried gaze.

"I'm okay. Sorry, I guess I'm just trying to get used to everything again. A lot has happened in the past few days." She said, looking back at him.

"Of course. I'm sorry to keep asking." He apologized, taking her small hand in his and placing a chaste kiss on top of it.

"I-it's okay. Don't worry about it."

She stood up, stretched and grabbed some clean clothes from her drawer, informing Edward that was going to shower quickly. When he nodded and turned to look back out the window, Bella quickly grabbed her phone from her desk and exited the room.

She made her way to the bathroom, hoping Charlie didn't come upstairs. Things had been difficult between them since she had returned from Italy. Of course she was grounded, but she also knew it had upset him more then he let on. She let out a small sigh and stepped into the bathroom, locking the door.

She started the water and set down her clothes, keeping her phone in hand. She looked down at it, contemplating the likelihood that he would even respond if she tried to contact him. She heaved another sigh and sent him a quick text: Jake I'm sry. can we talk? I really need to talk to u. Plz…

She stared at the screen as the message sent, then she undressed and stepped under the hot water, letting it wash away her fear, anger, sadness from the past few days…but not that feeling. She couldn't get rid of that weird feeling and it scared her even more.

Bella sat in her room, her homework sprawled out in front of her on her desk, untouched. She rubbed her eyes, opening them again and fixating on her phone. She picked it up. No new messages. Her heart sank.

It had been almost three weeks since the fiasco in Italy and Jake had still not replied to any of her calls or texts. Every time her phone would ring or flash, her heart would jump to her throat. And every time it would just be Alice, or her mom, or Edward, and her heart would sink. Not that she didn't appreciate talking to them, but right now she just wanted to know that Jake didn't still hate her. Although his not talking to her hurt her so much, she could bet it was only a small amount compared to the hurt he was dealing with.

"I guess I deserve it…" She mumbled, setting her phone down on her desk and letting out a heavy sigh.

"Deserve what?"

Bella jumped, spinning around quickly, her heart racing as she saw Edward standing behind her.

"You scared me!" Bella panted, her heart still racing as she got up to greet him.

He took her in his arms and pressed her tightly against himself, nuzzling his face in the crook of her neck and placing a soft kiss there. "Sorry." He whispered.

Bella let out a sigh and pulled away from him, heading back to her desk where she sat down again.

"So…what do you deserve?" He questioned, walking over to her and placing a small kiss on the top of her head.

"Oh, um…" her mind reeled, trying to come up with something to explain away her Jake-related feelings, "Uh…just that I didn't do my homework...and now I have so much of it that I'm not going to be able to do anything fun all day. But I was saying I guess that's what I deserve for putting it off so long…"

She knew the story was less than impressive, but she had never been a good liar. She heard him chuckle quietly above her as he shook his head at her.

Bella smiled, turning her eyes up at him as he spoke.

"Well, I'll be by your side to keep you company."

Her smile widened at his kind words and she laid her head back to rest against him as he stood behind her, bending over to kiss her on her forehead.

She let out a sigh and opened her English book, moving her phone where she could see it easily, her eyes always watching for the little flashing light that told her she had a message. And when it never came, that feeling reared its ugly head.

Nearly four hours and many assignments later Bella closed her math book with a snap and rubbed her eyes.

"Feels good to be done, right?" Edward mused, smiling that crooked smile at her as he gently massaged her shoulders.

"You could say that." She said, relaxing as his hands eased her tension, "Are you still going to hunt tonight?" She asked casually, her secret agenda hidden well.

"If it's alright with you."

"Of course it is. You should take your time, you haven't hunted in awhile." She pushed, still trying to sound as casual as possible.

Edward nodded at her and smiled as she stood up, hugging him and resting her head on his chest.

"If you don't mind, I think I'll go now. I know Emmett wanted to come along as well, so I should go and meet him back at the house."

"Yeah, go for it. Take your time." She said again, hoping he hadn't noticed the edge to her voice.

"I love you, Bella." He said quietly, pulling her away from his chest and placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

"I love you, too."

He kissed her cheek and turned to leave, sliding the window open while glancing back at her before disappearing into the dusk.

She stood there a few moments before walking over to the window and closing it, looking out across the lawn. He was gone.

She hurried over to her dresser, forsaking her sweatpants and tank top for a pair of jeans and a warm hoodie. She sighed, running her fingers through her hair as she grabbed her phone off her desk, sticking it in her pocket as she made her way out of her room and down the stairs.

"Uh uh, where do you think you're going, Bells?"

She froze, her dad was sitting on the couch, a beer in his hand as he turned his head reluctantly from the football game on TV to face her.

"I was just-"

"Remember that deal we made? You're only ungrounded if you go see your other friends. You don't need to be going to see him now anyway…it's a little late." Charlie stated, clearly under the impression that Bella was going to see Edward, who had, in fact, just left her room.

"I was actually going to see Jake, dad." Bella said in a defeated tone. Charlie knew that Jake wasn't talking to her and although it embarrassed her a little, she was grateful now that it gave her an excuse to get out and go see him. "I just…he still hasn't talked to me, I was going to go try to talk to him in person." She explained.

"Oh. Well…be careful, and good luck." He said, raising his beer toward her in a 'cheers' sort of fashion.

"Thanks, I'm sure I'll need it." She said, smiling something that she felt looked more like a grimace as she slipped on her shoes and headed out the door.

Bella watched the dark road carefully as her truck traveled the familiar roads that lead her to the Quileute reservation. She had been careful this whole time so as to keep her agenda hidden not only from Edward, but also from Alice's prying mind. Bella knew that if she had let it slip in her mind that she was going to see Jake, Alice would see it immediately and inform Edward, who would be less than happy. She had never really tried to evade Alice's "inner eye", and she wasn't sure her methods worked, but she hadn't received and angry call from Edward yet, so that offered a small amount of reassurance.

Bella tightened her grip on the steering wheel as she turned into the gravel driveway in front of Jake's house. She didn't even know if he was home, but she didn't care. She would wait there all night if she had to, if it meant that she got to explain herself to him.

She hopped out of her truck, walking quickly over to the small house and knocked on the door. Billy opened the door minimally until he saw who it was, but even then, he only opened it a little more.

Obviously Billy knows that Jake and I aren't on the best terms… she thought to herself, looking at the ground, slightly humiliated for being the cause of his son's pain.

"Hey Billy, is um…is Jake here?" She spoke the request in a meek voice, raising her eyes to meet his. They were cold.

"No. He's not here, Bella." His voice was as cold as his eyes.

Bella cleared her throat, adding a little more power to her words this time, "Do you know where he is? I really need to talk to him." After all, it really wasn't Billy's business as to what was going on between her and Jake.

"I don't know. I'll let him know you stopped by." And with a curt nod, he closed the door, leaving her standing outside with her mouth slightly open. Billy had never been that cold toward her, and she knew it was because of what she did to Jake. She really needed to see him, to fix things between them. She needed her friend back.

Almost as if on cue, she heard boisterous laughter coming from the woods near the house. She turned her head around quickly, squinting into the darkening dusk to see three shapes emerging from the woods. Her breath hitched in her throat and she stood completely still, staring at him as he approached the house, still unaware of her presence. She heard him laughing, talking with who she now made out to be Quil and Embry, and the sound of his voice made her exhale the breath she wasn't even aware she was holding in. She swallowed, turning to face them as they continued walking toward her.

"Hey Jake," Quil began, "is that…Bella?" He asked, squinting at her and pointing.

Jake froze and squinted into the impending darkness, seeing her silhouetted against their house. He stopped in his tracks.

Bella bit her lip nervously as she saw him stop.

"You should talk to her, man." Embry piped up, giving Jake a small shove toward the house, "Maybe then we can all catch a break from your annoying thoughts!" He joked, shoving him toward the house again. Jake glared at him, but began walking again, faster, toward the house. Quil and Embry fell back, maintaining a distance from Jake.

Bella watched as he closed the distance between them…she bit her lip harder, willing herself to stay calm and breathe.

"What are you doing here?" The venom in his voice was profound and his tone sent a chill down Bella's spine.

"Jake…" It was so stupid, but that's all she could get out. She had been rehearsing what she would say to him for three weeks, and now she had her chance and all she could say was his name.

"What do you want, Bella?" He spat, clearly not satisfied with her previous response.

Bella shook her head slightly, taking in a breath as she composed herself, raising her eyes to meet his glare. "We need to talk…I-I want to talk to you. I've been texting you and calling you for weeks and you never respond. You need to hear me out." She explained, the words rushing from her mouth as she kept her eyes on his.

"I don't need to do anything for you, Bella. I did that once already, and look where it got me." He spoke it quietly, his words laced with anger and pain.

"Please just let me explain, Jake. Please." She was practically begging, as much as she hated to admit it. But this was what she had been wanting the past three weeks, so she wouldn't give up now.

He stared her down, his jaw clenched as he formed his hands into tight fists. She could see how much he was fighting with himself, how his heart told him to talk to her and his brain told him to run and never look at her again. She hoped his heart won. As the silence stretched on, she felt her stomach churn, her muscles were tense from anxiety, and as she watched him, that feeling crept up out of nowhere, stronger than ever.

She closed her eyes. He wasn't going to do it. He wasn't going to let her explain, try to fix things. But how could she blame him? She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, willing that stupid feeling to go away…all feeling for that matter. She nodded her head once, as an affirmation that she understood he did not want to talk to her. She opened her eyes and turned to walk away when she felt a warm hand around her wrist. She looked down at his hand in surprise, then moved her eyes up to his face as his expression softened slightly and he spoke.

"I never said to leave."

Okay, that's the first chapter. Sorry, not tons of romance/action stuff, but we'll get there. Anyway, the next chapter should be up relatively soon. Please review, let me know what you're thinking!