AN: Hi, this is going to be an AU where Bella grows up in Forks. This starts before Twilight series takes place. Jake and Bella are both the same age for the sake of my sanity and writing convenience. The first few chapters are going to have direct lifts from New Moon and Eclipses for explanation purposes. Of course, everything belongs to Stephanie Meyers. Please let me know what you think and ask any questions if you need anything clarified. xo
Chapter One: When Bella goes to La Push
Bella stifled a yawn with her fist. Her head leaning against the passenger seat window as she tugged the warm blanket closer around her chilled torso. It wasn't even five AM and her father was dragging her out of the house and to the Black's in La Push. Her father went fishing with Billy Black and Harry Clearwater nearly every weekend and this weekend wasn't an exception. Bella did not like being up this early but Charlie didn't feel comfortable leaving his daughter alone in Fork's all day, so he dragged her along, compromising by letting stay home from fishing and hanging out with Billy's kids for the day. Usually while in La Push, the twins or Leah 'watched' her, even though she was fourteen years old and totally capable of taking care of herself. She went along with it because she got to hang out with Jake, Billy's son. Jake and Bella had been thrown together so many times for their weekend fishing expeditions that the pair had become thick as thieves over the years.
Bella dozed off on the short trip to La Push. Awakening slightly when the car stopped in front of the Black's tiny red house. She could hear the driver door open and saw her father get out to grab her bag from the back seat. Slowly and somewhat grudgingly, Bella peeled her face from the window and wiped the sleep from her eyes as she undid her seatbelt with her free hand. She gathered up her blanket in the crook of her arm, exited the car and trudged up the front door. Charlie followed close behind her carrying her bag. Billy was already waiting by the door with his fishing gear and a huge grin on his face.
"Morning, Billy." Bella mumbled, giving him a quick hug before making her way inside and plopping down on the other seat that wasn't occupied by Jacob's large frame. Jake was draped over the long couch with his feet hanging off the end and resting on the coffee table, dozing peacefully. Bella couldn't help but notice that he looked even longer. The kid was only fourteen but lately he'd been growing like growing like a weed, he was already taller then Charlie and sure enough reaching close to Billy's six foot something height before he became wheel chair bound.
"Good morning, Swans!" Billy said cheerfully. "Bella, go ahead and take Jake's bed if you're still tired, he slept out here so you could have it." Bella's heart did a little flip at that. That was Jake for you, always doing sweet gestures and thoroughly confusing Bella even further. They were best friends, but lately Bella has been having these… feelings. She talked with Angela and Jessica about it, about how she got really excited to see Jacob on weekends and how his sunny smile made her tummy buzz with butterflies and when he hugged her goodbye she felt all funny and jello like. Both girls concluded that Bella had developed a crush on her oldest friend. Is that possible? Did Bella Swan have a crush on Jacob Black?
Over the summer Jake had changed a lot. He'd gotten taller and his wiry frame was beginning to thicken with muscles. He was also sweet and caring and just so warm and the way he smiled at Bella, it made her feel like she was the only girl in the world. And the way his eyes lit up when he saw her made her convinced that he liked her too. He made her feel special and Bella wasn't used to feeling like that for Jacob.
"You ready you old coot?" Charlie asked Billy, slapping his shoulder in greeting.
"Sure am! See you later Bella, have fun." Billy told her and began rolling his chair down the ramp while Charlie set down Bella's bag and picked up Billy's fishing gear. Charlie walked over and kissed the top of her head before following Billy out to the cruiser. He turned around one last time to remind Bella to mind Rachel and Rebecca. Bella gave them both a wave and said, "I will dad. Have fun, you two!"
Bella got up so she could close the door after them. She stood there for a minute watching as Charlie helped Billy into cruiser and loaded up their gear in the trunk. Once they were both safely inside the car, they turned to give Bella one last wave. She returned their goodbyes before closing the front door and locking it.
Bella was touched by Jacob offering up his bed, she knew first hand how lumpy and uncomfortable the little tan couch was but still, Jacob had given it up so she could rest easy. It was really sweet. She contemplated going back to his room for sleeping but by the point she had already plopped back down on to the plush armchair. She draped her blanket over herself and was all nice and cozy. By the time she decided that maybe she should move to the room her lids were already closed and she was halfway off to lala land.
Bella woke six hours later with warm brown eyes a mere five inches from her own. Startled, she jumped up, accidently knocking the owner in the gut with her knee. Jacob Black fell to the floor, clutching his side and rolling around dramatically, howling in mock pain.
Bella could hear Rachel laughing from the small dining room. "That's what you get for being a weirdo, Jake. I told you, you were going to scare her." Rachel scolded him before adding a friendly, "Morning, Bella!"
"Hey Rach! Jake." Bella glared at him for just second before letting an easy smile slip onto her lips. She couldn't stay mad at him for longer then five seconds. She was distracted by an ache in her neck and winced at the soreness. She tried rolling the muscles with her finger to work out the kink. She had slept totally wrong and her neck was bothering her. She rolled her head forward and then back and forth on her shoulders trying to work out the muscle. But it just hurt really bad so she stopped trying to move it and instead massaging it carefully with her fingers.
"I think I slept wrong." Bella told them. Rachel motioned for Bella to sit at the table. Bella obliged, trying to rolling her head but wincing from the effort.
"Bella, you should have slept in my bed. That's why I slept out here…" Jake told her, shaking his head.
"Hush Jacob, she probably didn't want to sleep in your bed. You haven't changed the sheets since first grade." Rachel told him, laughing at her own wittiness.
"I changed them last night" Jake grumbled, clearly not enjoying his sisters sense of humor. Jake wasn't thoughtless, he knew Bella would appreciate clean sheets.
"Either way, it's too late now. But that was really sweet of you Jake. I was just too tired to make my way back there, once I sat on the couch I dozed off." Bella told him not wanting his thoughtfulness to go unnoticed.
Rachel was rummaging around the cupboards and then the fridge. Bella could hear the buzz from the microwave and felt a cool compress against her neck that sent shivers down her spine. "Leave that there for a minute." Rachel told her before heading back to the kitchen and pulling the heating pad from the micro. Rachel wrapped it in a thin towel and came back pulling off the ice pack and inspecting Bella's neck.
"How does it feel?" Rachel asked.
"Cold and numb…"
"Perfect!" Rachel said her cheerily before putting on the warm pad. The sensation of warm on cool was odd at first but still felt oddly pleasing. Once Rachel thought the pad had been on long enough she took it off and rubbed some sort of minty smelling oil between her palms to warm it up. Carefully, she placed her fingers on either side of Bella's neck and began rubbing her stiff muscles. "Ah, Rach you are a miracle worker…" Bella cooed. She could feel her muscles loosening up as Rachel worked. "What is that?" Bella asked.
"It's a concoction I whipped up to help my dad when his legs ache. It helps with muscle spasms and inflammation and it eases soreness and pain." Rachel explained, careful fingers poking and prodding around Bella's neck.
"How's that?" Rachel asked her after a couple of minutes. Bella tentatively rolled her head back and forth, there was a bit of soreness but no pain whatsoever. Rachel was getting really good with her herbal remedies, Bella was impressed.
"Amazing Rachel. Thank you! You should bottle that up and sell it. You'd make a fortune." Bella told her appreciatively.
Rachel chuckled but waved her hand. "I don't want a fortune sweetie, I just want to help heal people." Bella nodded her head, she could appreciate that. "Hey where is Becca?" Bella asked, wondering where Rachel's twin was.
"Oh, Becca left about an hour after you got here. She went hiking at third Beach with some friends." Jacob told Bella. Bella looked outside and noted the sun and clear skies. "It's a beautiful day for hiking." Bella agreed. Even though she wasn't much of hiker herself. Becca however was an adventure enthusiast and liked to spend her weekends exploring. Hiking, swimming, kayaking anything fun and anything new.
Bella stood up then, stretching until she felt a few satisfying pops in her back. "I'm going to grab a shower." She told them while collecting her backpack from the living room and walking down the hallway to the first door on the right. It opened up to a small, but clean bathroom. Wasting no time, she was in and out of the shower within ten minutes, wearing a pair of cut off shorts and a loose-fitting gray t-shirt. She left her wet hair as is, hanging down her back so it could air dry. She was ruffling the towel through her hair when she heard loud voices getting louder. Abandoning the towel in a basket Bella rushed over to the front door where an argument was occurring.
Jacob was in front of the door arguing with an angry Quileute man. The man was absolutely gigantic. "Jacob, I just want to talk to Rachel-" the man started but Jacob cut him off. "And she said she doesn't want to talk to you, asshole! Bye." With that Jacob slammed the door shut with such fury the large window next to it rattled dangerously. "God, what is with that guy?" Jacob muttered to himself. "You okay, Rach?" He asked her. Bella noticed that she was as far back in the living room as one can get, pressed against the wall.
Bella rushed over and put a hand on her back, a bit of worry taking over her. "I'm fine. Really. He's just so creepy and won't leave me alone." Rachel told them, shaking her head and straightening her clothes. "Who is he?" Bella asked curiously.
"Paul Lahote, Neighborhood skank." Rachel said. "Slept with practically half the girls on the rez, even dated Becca for a bit and now he is interested in me." Rachel was seething, clearly disgusted with this Lahote guy. Although Bella thought she had good reason, he did sound kind of slutty.
"He dated your twin sister and thinks he can date you, too?" Bella asked her incredulously. "Sounds like a piece of work."
"Not only that… He shows up everyday begging to talk to me like I owe him something. Like he owns me and has a right to talk to me. It's effing weird." Rachel told them while shaking her head, her pretty face contorted into a mask of disgust.
"Lahote is a douche bag. End of story. If he comes around again I'm grabbing dad's shotgun." Jacob warned them.
Just then Bella's stomach growled loudly, making them all burst out laughing in the tense moment. Jacob gently grabbed and her hand and pulled her towards the kitchen. Bella noticed that her skin felt all tingly where Jacob's hand touched hers. "Let's get you some food." He told her kindly, all his anger fading away.
Jacob rummaged through the fridge and cabinets looking for food. "Cereal sounds good!" She told him as she pulled the box of captain crunch off the shelf and made herself a bowl. She sat at the table again, and Jacob joined her with a glass of juice and an apple. "I already at this morning." He mumbled through a mouthful of apple.
"I'm going to go work on some homework in my room, I'll catch you both later." Rachel told them before leaving down the hall. "Let me know if you guys leave!" She shouted before closing the door.
Jake and Bella sat in silence at the table, eating their food.
Jake looked at Bella, who was swirling her spoon around her cereal and trying to catch all the berries. Those were here favorites. Jake smiled. Bella noticed Jake staring at her and looked up at Jake, flashing him a pretty grin before asking him what he'd like to do today.
"We should definitely go outside and take advantage of the nice weather while we have it." Jacob told her and Bella agreed. They day was too beautiful to waste indoors.
"First Beach?" They asked each other in unison before laughing.
"Sounds like a plan Bells."
Bella finished the rest of her cereal and washed her and Jacob's dishes in the sink. Jake told Rachel they were heading to the beach for the day and that they'd be back before dinner. Together, Jake and Bella slipped on their shoes and walked towards the ocean.