'Perks of Being a Werewolf- Part one'
A/N: A J/B two-shot, somewhere in New Moon territory. It was late when I finished this first part, so I'm not entirely happy with how it turned out. Second part will be up in a couple of days!
It will switch back and forth between Jacob and Bella's points of view. This was based off of a little challenge from my temporary muse. This is dedicated to her. Jess, you da bess!
"I haven't seen it rain like this in forever!" he laughed, still sitting right where she left him a few paces ago. Why in the world was he still sitting there? He could catch a cold or the flu or....oh yeah. He might not even have to worry about that trivial human stuff now. She rolled her eyes, turning back around to wait for him.
"Are you seriously going to sit there in the rain, Jake?" she asked, feeling the sand get soggy between her toes. Secretly, she loved that feeling. And secretly, she loved watching him sit in the rain, the drops dripping from his dark hair and eyes. She would never own up to that kind of thought, though.
*********
He looked back at her standing there, holding her sweater over her head in a vain attempt to shield her hair from the downpour that came out of nowhere. Her face was pleading with him but this time, he wouldn't give in just yet. She looked so damn cute when she pouted like that. And not to mention that in the back of his teenage-boy mind, he couldn't help but notice that Bella's white tank top was not well-equipped for this kind of weather.
He would never own up to that kind of thought, though.
**********
And he's still sitting there, now staring at her, causing her to want to cover herself up in thick, wooly sweaters and sweatpants. Not bone-soaked jeans and ohmygod this tank-top is white and I'm standing in the rain and my sweater is over my head and I look like I'm giving him a show. And ohmygod did he really just blush? That's a Bella-thing, not a Jake-thing.
She makes some sort of sound that could almost pass for a squeak, then begins the run back up to safety in her truck. Talk about mortifying.
She makes it there in record time, sloshing and sliding around in the leather seat once she slams the door shut beside her. Inside the cab, it's fogged-up and chilly. She wishes the stupid heater would work and wouldn't have given out a week ago. Because even though he may be immune to humanly sicknesses, she surely wasn't. And the last thing Bella wanted was to get sick.
She took her drenched sweater and began to wipe down the windshield and driver's side window, so that she could see to drive. Bella hoped that Jacob would hurry up and follow her so that they could go back to his house and she could attempt to find some dry clothes. That may or may not be five-times too big for her.
Shortly after she was done, Jacob was suddenly in the passenger's seat next to her. He took one look at her, holding her dripping sweater to her chest and let out a boisterous laugh. Scowling, she started up the truck, wanting to kick him out and make him walk home in the rain. Not that it would seem to bother him anyway. Catching a glimpse at herself in her rearview, she realized that she resembled a drowned rat in this state and no,it was not a cute thing. Damnit.
Before Bella had a chance to put the truck in drive, it started raining in her truck.
Or more so that Jacob went all 'wolf' on her and started shaking his head like a dog, to dry off. She shrieked.
"JACOB! WHAT THE HELL! I'M ALREADY SOAKED!" she yelled, glaring at him once he was done with his shaking.
Jacob paused for half a second before starting to laugh at her again.
"Please, like it really made a difference that I added to the moisture in here," he chuckled, before running his hand over his head a few times, wiping off the remaining droplets of rain. She pretended not to hear him, putting the truck in reverse, and backing out of the spot she parked in.
A few minutes later, they were back at Jacob's house, finally out of the practical hurricane. Bella stood in the doorway, trying to be careful by not letting her wet clothes drip on the carpet. Jacob, however, flopped on the couch, still soaked.
Noticing her peculiar look, he hopped back up, offering to bring her some clothes to wear.
Even while being such a guy, he was still so nice. In his own way.
He returned to the living room with a pair of black sweatpants and an oversized gray t-shirt. The t-shirt she noticed, was definitely Jake's, but the pants looked way too short to be his. She took them from his hands, turning over the pants, to see if they were his or not.
"They're Rebecca's. She left them here the last time she came to visit. Just in case you were wondering, and yeah, that's my shirt. I do have a few left that aren't ripped into shreds in the middle of the forest somewhere," he smirked, heading down the short hallway to his room. Bella shook her head, smiling at how he always knew exactly what she was thinking. Sometimes, even before she thought it. She went into the bathroom to quickly change into the strangely mis-sized outfit.
He beat her to the couch, stretching out languidly across it, as though he wasn't going to let Bella have a seat. Narrowing her eyes at him, she proceeded to plop down on his feet and legs, moving around to get comfortable. At this, Jake laughed, and lifting her up with the new-found strength in his legs. Bella screeched and laughed as this caused her to roll ontop of his stomach. In one quick fluid movement, he rolled her back away from him, pulling his legs out from underneath him. Unable to stop herself, she blushed and pulled her knees up to her chin, resting it there.
Jacob was channel-surfing, trying to find something interesting to watch. He started into the movie channels when Bella pointed to the screen.
"Right there! Stop it right there!" she said, almost grabbing the remote from him. It was one of Bella's favorite movies and although lately, she hadn't been up for any kind of romantic flick, she could never resist this one:
"Now say you're a bird! Say it...say it!"
"If you're a bird, I'm a bird."
Jacob snorted and rolled his eyes at the scene. Suddenly, he turned to Bella, taking her hand and in the most serious voice he could possibly muster, repeated the scene back to her.
"If you're a bird, I'm a bird," he said, batting his ridiculously long eyelashes at her, trying hard not to burst out in laughter again. She let out a small giggle before pulling her hand away from him.
"If I was a bird, you'd probably eat me on one of your strolls through the woods, Mr. Black," she smiled, noticing how his eyes shot up for half-a-second before nodding in agreeance with her. "Probably," he'd said.
Even though Jake seemed to not be so keen on watching the movie, he didn't bother changing the channel. That was just how he was, always willing to do whatever she wanted to do at the moment. It was one of the many things she cherished about him.
She couldn't help but notice out of the corner of her eye, that every now and then, Jacob would look at her expectedly, as if waiting for something to happen. She wasn't sure what he was waiting for, but she did also happen to notice that for every time he was looking at her, she was sorta-kinda looking back at him and she didn't think about that fact until she caught him grinning over at her.
"I'm a little proud of you, Bells," Jacob declared, breaking the oddly-comforting silence.
"Why's that?"
"Well...I thought that maybe, I dunno...a movie like this might upset you or something. But you seem to be doing good with it. So, I'm proud at how you're handling this craptastic mush," he mumbled, patting her on her shoulder. She turned to him and smiled, nodding and sort of proud of herself for being able to hold it together, too. It wasn't too hard, however, when she had Jake around to warm her heart.
She was vaguely aware of how close they were now sitting, since he had confessed to him being a feathered-creature. The heat seemed to rise up between them like rain on a hot summer day. Bella felt as though she were being slowly burned, in a not-entirely-unpleasant sort of way. The air was thick with all sorts of words that both wanted to say in this moment, but neither were up to challenge right now. Even with the air falling heavy around them, she was able to breathe deeply.
See, Jake...He always made it a little easier to breathe. This was a good thing.
*****************
Why did her skin have to be so soft? And why did she have to end up so close to him? He knew she couldn't be doing all this on purpose...it was purely coincidental that Bella Swan was only a few inches away from him- practically leaning against him, while they're watching this romantic movie that Bella would've never watched before. Jacob didn't want to think that this closeness....that it meant that she felt any differently than any other day. But it was just weird, the feeling that was floating around the room.
No, it was like an electric charge that kept getting higher in intensity with every one of her sighs, or every one of her quick glances at him.
"Jake?" she called to him, after the movie was (finally) over.
"Hmm?"
"D'you...do you think that something like that could really happen? I mean...outside of the movies, obviously," she asked quietly, stealing another look at him. She was biting her lip in that I'm-not-sure-I-should've-asked kind of way.
"Like what?"
"That some people really are meant to be together that stuff like a war and marriage and...death, could never keep them apart?"
He thought on it for a brief moment, before answering her.
"You mean like soulmates?"
"Yeah, I suppose you could call it them that. I know...it's cheesy," she shrugged, pulling farther away from him. The look he gave her begged her to stay put, not to move away never-ever-ever. She hesitated for a second, before scooting back towards him. This time, she didn't look directly in his eyes as she usually did. That unnerved him a bit.
"I think that there are rare exceptions to just about anything, Bells. Soulmates or not. If you are 'meant' to be with someone, it just happens, right? So why with all the obstacles? Why are there are there always things that get in the way of these people getting together and just, I dunno, being together? Why is there always a war, a marriage, a death? I don't really know why, but if two people are are able to get past those kinds of things, then who's to say they shouldn't be together? I'm not sure if I really get the whole soulmates thing, but I would understand something like a girl and a guy feeling like they belong together. That kind of feeling, when it's shared...I'm sure it's pretty....nice, I guess." He watched as her breath caught in her chest at his last few words. He hoped he didn't come off sounding too abrasive when he said that.
She scratched her nose, her mouth drawing up at one end, in a lopsided smile.
"And if one doesn't share the same feeling of meant-to-be as the other person?" she asked, a few moments later.
"Easy. It's not meant to be if there is only one person in love. Because let's face it, you can't make someone love you. No matter how much you want to." He really could feel the hurt coming out in his own voice, but he was so sure that Bella was wrapped up in thinking about her ex-leech-lover, to be worried about anything that he was thinking.
"Yeah, you're right. It just seems like life can be so unfair sometimes, when it comes to love. There's always someone getting burnt by it, somewhere...some way. It'd be nice to know that there are people out there that get to experience it anyway," she spoke softly, still biting her lip and now pulling her arms around herself as if she were feeling cold again.
He cleared his throat, not wanting the day to be spoiled by wallowing in his own unrequited love. Bella looked up, smiling again and shaking her head to also clear her thoughts.
"Sorry Jake, I'm not trying to be a Debbie-Downer. Seriously, let's find something else to do," she said, getting up to stretch some.
His eyes unwillingly followed up the curve of her arms as she stretched one one arm to one side, then moving in reverse. Even in his baggy t-shirt and some sweatpants, Bella was beautiful. And he hated the fact that this was starting to become an issue more and more.
Bella turned quickly, to see him staring at her again in that look that he couldn't just keeptohimself. It was like lighting a match and throwing it in a blaze- just no use to it.
There they were, the two of them, standing there in the middle of his tiny living room with not a whole lot of space between them. Billy was out for the day and they were there alone, breathing in the same air. The same thick air that smelled like high hopes and wet sand.
Jacob was trying to fight the urge to walk over to her and kiss her full on the mouth and jaw and nose and face, and feel his hands in her hair- her long, pretty brown hair and....he was trying so hard. And he was doing good, because despite all these thoughts that were clouding his mind, he managed to say that he was hungry and walked into the kitchen without breathing too much. From in the kitchen, he could hear her let out a long breath that she too, had obviously been holding in.
He grabbed a banana and immediately tore it open, gulping it down in two and a half bites. He wasn't sure of what he wanted to do now, but he knew it involved the girl who was making her way into the kitchen and his way too small bed.
Bella walked into the room with a weird look on her face, like she was lost in a daze of sorts.
Jacob, in all honesty, was tired of waiting and tired of tip-toeing around her in that instant. And in that instant, something inside him lost grip on reality, and then he was standing in front of her, smiling his all-knowing smile.
"What?" she asked, crinkling up her face.
"I was just thinking of how cute you look in my shirt. That's all," he replied, feeling even braver than the night at the movie theater.
She snorted and blushed and made some weird humming sound, all at the same time. And it was enough to drive him over the edge.
"Oh, that's all?" she said, rolling her eyes, before going into the refrigerator and bringing out the gallon of milk. He figured she'd be a little more vocal in her response, but all the same...
"Mmhmm."
"My shirt's done in the dryer by now. I can go change." she stated as-a-matter-of-factly. She raised her eyebrow at him.
"You should just stay in that and...stay here. For awhile." he replied.
"Uh yeah, well I'm not going anywhere any time soon. Especially out in that weather," she laughed. She was obviously trying to stay cool about his close proximity and words to her.
They both leaned up against the counter and sink, looking out into the woods outside. It was barely visible in all of the rain coming down.
Jacob was very aware of the tension between them. It was the sort of thing that you could physically feel throughout every bone in your body.
He knew he couldn't be imagining it and he knew that even with Bella's uncertainty, she could still feel it too. It was funny how something so natural as them standing there together in total silence, could affect his thoughts. He couldn't think straight and felt like he had to grip onto the counter to keep himself upright.
Despite his bravado earlier, Jacob was feeling shy and hopeful. If only Bella would just say something to make him feel that there really was something to the atmosphere of what-if's and should-I's.
Bella sighed, lying her head up against his arm. He could feel the softness of her hair, even as it was damp and drying. He in return, sighed and patted the top of her head with his free hand.
This was the precise moment that all the lights in the house flickered once and then gave out. Jacob laughed at the irony of the situation.
"I didn't hear any lightning or thunder," she mused, turning around to wring her not-dry-enough hair into the sink.
"Nah, but I hear the wind starting to pick up outside," he answered, taking the glass of milk she had on the counter and sipping from it.
"Let me guess…one of those spiffy new perks of being a werewolf?"
He laughed, sputtering milk all over the counter and himself. She watched in amusement as he tried to wipe down all the milk-moistened objects with a dish-towel. He took the towel and pretended to wipe off her shirt, too.
"Yeah, not only can I become extremely furry at will- I can hear any sound within twenty miles, drink water out of a bowl, am extremely snuggly at night and have excellent x-ray vision," he winked at her, looking her up and down, jokingly.
She chuckled, shaking her head: "I bet not," she said, before following his lead and hopping up on the countertop.
"You don't believe me about the x-ray vision, huh?"
"No, I mean I bet you're not in the least bit snuggly and it doesn't surprise me that you drink water out of the bowl. You're obviously not able to drink it from a cup," she jabbed at his stomach, causing him to double-over in mock pain.
"I can too snuggle! You can ask any of my manly stuffed animals my dad keeps in the attic!" he replied, with an almost too-solemn face. Bella rolled her eyes at him again.
"You are such a dog," she laughed, putting her arms up in surrender when he narrowed his eyes at her.
"You shouldn't say such things. I might be one of those mean dogs that take a snap at you," he said, chomping his teeth down in response. He hoped she took it hook, line and sinker. But Bella would probably be too smart for that.
Fall for me…fall for me…fallforme…
"Jake, you wouldn't dare," she said slowly, watching him as he hopped down into a crouch. He grinned like a little boy getting ready to snatch his favorite toy.
"Maybe, maybe not," he murmured back.
"You don't have the…the guts to try to take a bite. It'll hurt! You wouldn't want to hurt me." she held the back of her hand up to her forehead as though she was feeling faint.
He pounced light as he could, trapping her arms inside his frame- his mouth an inch away from her neck.
"I wouldn't say that it's going to hurt. But I do have the guts. And I also have the manners to give you a head-start to tell me no. You have approximately three seconds to do so," he said in his husky voice. She shivered underneath him.
"One…"
"Jake, I don't think you shou-"
"Two…"
"You can't just expect me to-"
"Two and a half…"
Silence.
"Three," he whispered.
Jacob took his right hand and tilted her head to the left so he had a better angle at her neck. Giving her an extra brief second to refuse him, he pulled his lips back, baring his teeth. He softly bit into the sensitive skin there, sending goose-bumps up and down both of them.
And as quickly as it happened, it was over. He pulled back, to look at her with a funny smile on his face. She looked like she was still in shock.
"Um, I think I'll…um…." She stuttered, not knowing what to say to this whole scene that just took place.
"Oh for God's sake, Bells, it was a joke! Calm down lady!" he teased, pretending like him biting her neck was just as everyday typical as it came.
"Yeah, I know, but you can just be so…literal sometimes! Just because you say you're going to do something…it doesn't mean you actually need to do it," she pouted, rubbing the spot where his teeth just were. "It sorta hurt," she whined
"You're being such a baby, Bella." He whined back at her, still in a teasing manner.
They both sat on the counter for a few more minutes, still in the dark, still in the tension. Still in the silence. He felt his window closing in on him. He was trying to get through to her and this had to be the time. It only made sense. He hoped that this would work out, so that he could breathe easier about protecting her.
See, Bella…She always made it a little harder for him to breathe. This was a good thing.