Pick a Pic Challenge

Title: Rivals

Banner #: 183

Pairing: Jake and Nessie

Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Romance

Rating/Disclaimer: MA

Summary: When Nessie is faced with a life without choices, and void of her best friend Jake, how will she cope with her parents stacked against her.

To see all entries for this contest, please visit (pickapic).(twificpics).com

I ran.

I pushed myself to the point that the world seemed to blur past me. Thorn bushes and low limbed branches brushed against my skin like down feathers as the clean air filled my lungs. The forest was my sanctuary, my church in clearing my head.

"I don't understand where this is coming from, baby." My mother's voice echoed in my mind. "Where is all this sudden hostility coming from?"

I didn't know how to respond to that. How could I when I didn't fully understand myself? So I ran.

If anyone where to ask me what I was running from I honestly wouldn't be able to pinpoint it. I guess it was just this final thing that seemed to set me off.

Flashes of what just transpired moments ago replayed through my head as I skid to a stop at the cliffs. I looked over and watched the waves crash against the cliff-side while I took a moment to catch my breath.

Ever since I had fully matured things had been changing. My father stopped letting me hang out at First Beach and began throwing medical books in my direction, telling me that it was time for me to start deciding what I wanted to do with my life. My extended family started taking over any free time I had, from shopping trips to game night. It was never a case of asking for my permission, either. And then there was my mother.

I bit down on my bottom lip and fell down onto my knees. I could feel my eyes starting to brim with unshed tears as the memories continued to overwhelm me.

"Hey, mom," I yelled. "I gonna call Jake and see if he want to hang."

"Sorry Hun, but I already made plans with Jake," she smiled, standing in my doorway with her keys in hand. "We're heading to Port Angeles to look at some bike parts for the motorcycle he's restoring."

"Oh." I huffed, looking down at my hands. "Well, can I tag along?"

My mom shook her head. "It's kinda just Jake and I this time, but maybe when we go back, okay?"

I looked up to reply, but she was already gone

Jake was my best friend. I can't remember a time in my life where I didn't have him by my side, but in the last ten months I could count on one hand how many times I had been alone with him. It was like I was competing with my own mother when it came to spending time with my best friend. That thought alone caused my tears to spill over.

I took a shaky breath and wrapped my arms around myself.

Jake was the only one who ever asked me how I felt, what I liked, or even asked how my day was. He never ordered me around or forced me to try things I didn't want to. He would let me ride his back while he ran around the forest, and I would grip his fur and send him visions of all the hundreds of things that I wanted to experience in life. We would always stop at the cliffs and plan when we would start my never ending list of dreams.

Dreams. What a joke. Felt more like a lie at this point. Lies I told myself for years to help me get passed what I am.

A freak.

Chimes echoed through the silent forest, alerting me that someone was calling me. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw that it was my father.

"Yes?" I sighed, answering it.

"Home, now," was his only reply.

"No." I growled.

"Excuse me?" he yelled, which was unfortunately something I had grown accustomed to.

"I said no." With that I shut off my phone and tossed it over the cliff.

I felt more alive in that small moment then I had in years.

"No," I whispered to myself. I repeated it a few more times, allowing myself to get used to the word.

I picked up a large stone and chucked it over the cliff and into the water.

"No, I don't want to go shopping."

I picked up another and threw that one over, too.

"No, I will not go to medical school."

I jumped up and pulled down a large branch hanging low from a tree and began using it like a bat against the trees around me.

"Screw your schedules and rules, Mother," I screamed, swinging the thick branch as hard as I could. I hit the tree with enough force that it not only shattered the branch into splinters, but took down the tree as well. I picked up the broken tree and flung it over the cliff, yelling out more angry words to my parents. Words I knew they would never hear. I did this to four more trees before I finally fell to the floor and curled up into a ball.

I was sore, tired, and lonely. I felt hollow.

xXx

I must have fallen asleep because I was pulled out of my darkness with the sound of a very distinct whistle; a whistle that Jared had been trying to teach me for years.

"Jake," Jared yelled. "Over here, I found her."

I tried to force my eyes to open when I felt a pair of arms lift me off the ground.

"Like mother like daughter."

"My ass!" Someone yelled. "Did Bella leave this much destruction when you found her in the forest, Sam?"

"Shut up and call the Cullen's." Jake yelled. His chest vibrated against my ear as he pulled me tighter to him. For a split second reality hit me and I realized that if he called my family I'd have to go home.

"No," I whimpered. "Please don't call them. Please don't send me back."

"What is it Ness?" Jake whispered. "What happened?"

I nuzzled my face against his warm skin and sighed.

"Don't do it, Jake," I whispered before allowing the blackness overtake me again.

xXx

"I get that she's your daughter, Bella, I'm not arguing against that, but she asked for this and my loyalty is to her first and foremost."

I awoke to the sound of Jake's raised voice echoing around me. It took me a moment to realize that I wasn't in my own bed, but in Jake's.

"You didn't find her, Bella! I did! And what I found was a broken little girl, ready to give up."

Little girl? Is that how he saw me?

"You should be the last one to talk about falling apart in the forest," he muttered darkly. "She seems to take after you more than you think."

There was a long pause before Jake spoke again.

"Hey Doc, no she doesn't seem hurt at the moment, but she is resting."

Great, he's talking to grandpa.

"Well, I disagree, Doc. I think it's best to let her rest and calm down for a little while." Another pause. "If you saw what we saw then you wouldn't be arguing with me." I heard Jacob growl and I knew right then he was talking to dad.

"I am not keeping you from her, but the packs first loyalty is to her, not you. When she is ready to leave I will bring her home myself."

I bit my lip nervously and held my breath. What had I done?

"Fine!" Jacob yelled, and then slammed the phone down. "No disrespect, but your father is an asshole."

I let out a shaky breath and smiled.

"Tell me something I don't already know," I muttered, knowing he would have heard me.

I should have known better then to assume he'd think I was still asleep. Even though the door was partially open he still knocked softly. I sat up in his bed and motioned for him to come in. He sat at the other end of the bed, facing me.

"Want to tell me what the hell happened today, Ness?"

I leaned back against the headboard and closed my eyes.

"Everything, Jake," I whispered, "everything, and nothing, all at the same time."

"That sure as hell didn't look like nothing to me, Renesmee."

I opened my eyes when I felt Jake's hand clasp over mine. The simple gesture brought tears to my eyes. I couldn't even remember the last time Jake held my hand. It felt right, feeling his hand in mine. I felt warmth spread through me as if he were reviving something inside me that had died. It was overwhelming to the point where I couldn't help but let a sob escape me. He wrapped me in his arms within seconds.

"Shhh," he whispered. "Don't cry. Please, don't cry." I wrapped my arms tightly around him as he started to rock me slightly. "It kills me to see you this way."

I wish I could have stopped crying. Knowing it pained Jake, I hated myself for being so weak, but I just couldn't stop. It was as if I had been holding these tears in and Jake was setting them free.

He moved us back toward the headboard and continued to rub my back until I fell back asleep. When I awoke again it was dark, but what surprised me was the warm body that had curled up behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Jake's peaceful sleeping face and his arm wrapped firmly around me. I couldn't help but smile.

Not wanting to wake him, I slowly dislodged myself from his arm and made my way to the bathroom to clean up. Once I flipped the light on I wanted to turn it right off. I looked like hell. My hair was matted, eyes puffy, and my cheeks looked like I had been slapped in the face for hours. I ran my hands over my dark hair and frowned when I pulled out a twig.

"Perfect," I grumbled.

It only took me a nanosecond to decide that I needed a shower in the worse way. I stripped off my soiled clothes and turned on the water. The shower felt heavenly against my skin as I scrubbed Jakes shampoo into my hair. After washing and rising off, I wrapped myself in the only towel in there and tiptoed back into the bedroom. Jake was still fast asleep, so I quietly made my way over to his closet and pulled out the first shirt I saw. I went over to his dresser next and pulled out a pair of boxers, slipping them on under the towel and then pulling the well worn shirt over myself. I let the towel drop and dried my hair a little with it before tossing it in the hamper. My stomach decided at that moment to growl, so I decided to see if there was anything I could eat.

It took years for me to be weaned off of human blood. It was hard on my body, but with the help of my family and Jake, I hadn't had a drop of human blood in almost five years. Dad always gave me grief about how picky I am with animal blood, but it's hard to go from eating steak every night to eating chicken nuggets. And even though I can survive on chicken, sometimes I really crave a nice juicy steak. It was one of the main reasons why I had yet to go to a normal school. My parents still didn't trust me to be around so many humans when I still craved blood. I ate human food, too, but only when I was really hungry and couldn't go out to hunt.

I walked into the kitchen and opened every cabinet that I knew should have food in it. As always, Jake's food consisted mainly of snack foods. His fridge was predominantly beer and microwavable meals. I was slightly disappointed, wishing I could have cooked a nice meal for Jake to show my appreciation for all that he has done. I guess it just wasn't in the cards for tonight.

"Ness?" I heard Jake call out. I turned just in time to see him walk in. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me standing in the middle of his kitchen. I watched him take me in from head to toe, surveying the clothes that I took from him, before he finally met my eyes.

"Sorry," I nervously chuckled, pulling at the hem of my shirt. "My clothes were thrashed and I had to borrow these when I got out of the shower." I quickly started shutting all the cabinets that I had left open during my ill attempt at finding dinner. "Um, I was looking for something to make dinner with, but it seems that you need to go on a grocery run and –"

"Nessie, stop," he said firmly and I froze.

I kept my back to him and bit my lip to keep it from trembling.

Was he mad at me for taking his clothes and going through his things? Was he going to ask me to leave?

I felt him move towards me and nearly gasped when I felt his chest against my back. There was a long awkward pause between us before he finally broke the silence.

"Are you hungry?" He whispered into my hair.

I fought back the shiver when his warm breath fanned over my skin. I couldn't seem to speak at the moment, so I just nodded yes.

"You need to hunt?"

I shook my head.

"Okay, then how does pizza sound?"

I slowly turned and saw a small smile on Jake's face. I returned the smile and nodded excitedly.

"Pizza sounds perfect."

xXx

"A doctor?" Jake laughed. "He won't let you go to school, but he wants you to become a doctor?"

I laughed with him as I helped clean up the kitchen after eating two large pizzas. We fell into an easy conversation once the food was delivered. We talked about everything from movies to the drama at home. Even though it had been months since we've really talked, now it felt like no time had passed at all.

"You wouldn't believe the amount of medical journals and textbooks that have accumulated in my room. It's beyond repulsive." I washed my hands in the sink and then turned toward him. "Oh, and the one time when I said that maybe I didn't want to be a doctor you would have thought I lit the house on fire."

Jake's eyes widened. "That bad?"

"He wouldn't talk to me for a week, but that still didn't stop me from thinking over and over again about applying for a job at Newton's Outfitters," I chuckled.

"Damn!" Jake yelled. "Now that was ballsy. Even I don't like that Newton guy, and I know for a fact that your father really hates him." Jake lifted his hand and I stepped forward to give him a high five. "Remind me of this moment next time I'm around Edward so I can think of it too."

I started laughing again when a yawn escaped me.

"And that's our cue to go to bed."

Jake ushered me back into his bedroom and pulled down the covers. I slipped in and was reaching for his hand when he quickly turned and started to leave the room.

"Wait," I rushed out. He stopped at the door and looked at me. "You're not staying?"

He shook his head. "I'll take the couch."

"But –," I paused and took a deep breath, "I'd really like it if you stayed."

Jake looked torn as he stood in the doorway. I knew I was playing with fire by asking this from him, but when I woke up earlier with him wrapped around me I had never felt so comfortable in my life. I wasn't ready to give that up yet.

Finally Jake sighed and relented. "I have to make a quick call and then I'll be right back. Okay?"

I smiled so wide that Jake laughed at me. "Okay!" I pulled myself deeper under the covers and raised the comforter to my chin.

xXx

I smiled against the warm lips that grazed down my neck to my bare shoulder. I bit back a moan when I felt his teeth nip at my skin. I reached back and slid my fingers through is thick hair, wordlessly begging him not to stop his assault on my skin.

I gasped when I felt his warm hand slide around my waist, down my abdomen, and between my bare legs. I opened myself to him, wanting – no – needing him to be the only man to touch me there. His fingertips softly touched the bare skin of my sex before parting my wet lips and moving a finger over my sensitive clit.

"Oh God," I mewed, bucking my hips towards his hand. "More, please."

"More what, Ness?" His gritty voice said in my ear.

"Everything," I hummed, unsure of what I wanted. All I knew was that I felt great, and a large part of that was because of who was doing it to me.

He started rubbing his fingers a little faster and slightly more firmly against me. I threw my head back and tightened my grip in his hair.

"Yes," I cried out.

"I love you, Renesmee." He whispered against my hair, as he started rubbing his very hard member against my backside.

"I love you, too." I panted, moving my hips along with his.

I could feel the pressure building more and more with each swivel of my hips.

"Nessie," his voice hummed.

"Yes," I moaned.

"Nessie," his voice said a little more firmly.

"Almost there," I stuttered, feeling my body right there at the edge.

I felt another warm kiss right below my ear. "I do love you, Nessie. Please wake up."

What?

My eyes shot open and I scrambled out of bed only to see a very embarrassed looking Jacob trying to hide his very excited member.

And then it hit me. I projected my dream to him because he was touching me.

"Oh God," I gasped, rushing out of the room and into the bathroom. I locked it just as I heard Jake rushing after me.

"Ness… Nessie?" he cooed to me, knocking on the door softly. "Please talk to me. We need to talk about this."

I slid down the door and pulled my knees to my chest. I just had my first sex dream about my best friend who received the HD version because of my freakish ability.

I heard Jake slide down the door on his side and bang something against it.

"Nessie," he whispered. "Do you want to know why your parents have been keeping you away from me?" My head shot up from surprise, but before I could tell him yes he said the one thing I never expected, "Because I had the same dream."

I felt my jaw slacken and my head swim with the multiple questions that plagued it.

"What?" Was the only response that seemed to surface.

"Awhile back, when we were all hunting together, and you and I went off on our own-," he muttered and then paused.

"I remember," I answered, urging him on. It was the last time Jake hunted with me.

"And you caught that bear."

I snorted. "Yeah, I was wearing one of Rose's shirts and freaked out that I got blood all over it."

"And we went to the stream so you could wash off a little."

I ran my fingers through my hair in confusion. "What are you getting at Jake?"

"Seeing you like that, Ness… I don't know. A flash went through my head pretty similar to the dream you just had."

He had a sex dream… about me? But why would that –

"Oh no," I groaned. "Let me guess. My father saw it."

"Yeah."

I got up and opened the door. Jake stood up quickly and met my gaze.

Placing my hands on my hips I took a calming breath and pushed out the words as best I could. "So you're telling me that because you had a daydream about me my parents have been keeping you away from me for almost a year?"

Jake stepped forward to the point that we were chest to chest. His hand came up slowly to my face and he softly moved my hair behind my ear. "It wasn't just a daydream, Nessie," he whispered. "It was hope."

I was lost by the look in his eyes. I had never seen such raw love and passion before, and it was for me. He was looking at me this way.

"H—hope?" I stuttered, licking my suddenly dry lips. The simple move didn't go unnoticed by Jake because his eyes immediately went to my lips.

"Yes, baby," he hummed, moving his hand to cup my cheek. "Hope that one day you'd want me, too."

I felt the tears welling up in my eyes and spilling down my cheeks.

"Do you, Ness?" he urged. "Do you want me?"

I knew I did. I wanted him more than anything in this world. I wanted him entirely to myself for the rest of my life.

"Yes," I rushed out before reaching for his face and pressing my lips against his.

I would love this moment always.

My first kiss.

This kiss would be burned into my heart forever. I knew that with this kiss I would never have to rival against my family for Jake ever again.