A/N: I was watching the video by Daughter for their song "Youth" when this one shot just came flying out of my head. It's serious angst for me.

SM owns it all. I'm just dreaming of Jake. :D


His eyes followed her as she walked down the beach with him, hand in hand. He could tell by the lightness of her step, the swing of her free arm, the way that she leaned into him that she was finally happy. She had found all that he had ever wanted for her, only she didn't find it with him.

Through all the months of her healing, she had leaned on him as he worked tirelessly to bring her out of the shell that she had become when that leach left her. It felt like a small eternity had passed before she finally learned to laugh and trust again. At first, he had held her while her elephant tears fell as she pieced her heart back together. Later, he coaxed her into going out with her friend Angela to learn to enjoy her life again. He didn't want her to completely depend on him. He wanted her to learn to stand on her own, be strong for herself again.

So here he was….she had reached that goal. She was walking along the beach with the guy who was now her fiancé, or so Charlie had told his dad. They were going to finish their next two years at the University of Washington and plan a wedding after they graduated. Charlie truly liked this guy. He was good for her, made her happy. He truly loved her. Charlie also knew that she could depend on him to never leave her like Edward had but he also didn't know the complete truth. Bella was the center of his universe, but he had chosen to let her go.

"It's all I ever wanted for you, Bells."

Footsteps, almost completely silent on the forest floor but easily heard with his enhanced hearing, told him that he was no longer alone in his observation of the woman that he still loved. Leah came up beside him, watching Bella stop and turn to kiss her boyfriend. Crossing her arms over her chest, she sneered down at the obviously happy couple.

"That's bullshit and you know it, Jake."

He gave her a side glance, but did nothing else to acknowledge her presence. He knew that the entire Pack was well aware of his feelings for Bella because he had made no effort to hide them. His eyes roamed over the smiling features of the only girl to ever truly hold his heart, knowing that he could never have her, knowing that he would never do anything to take that look from her face. She was no longer his.

"You should have told her that you loved her when you had the chance." Leah chimed in again.

"She's better off now without supernaturals in her life. She can live. Be a normal… human..."

Leah grumbled, frustrated at him. Shaking her head, she turned and left. Jake knew exactly what he was giving up even though it was killing him to do so. He waited until Leah was long out of earshot before he finished his sentence.

"…and I will always protect you, Bells."

With a broken sigh, he gave her one last look before turning back to the forest to the life he wished he didn't have, wishing he could have been normal for her.