Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Beta: tayjayfan - THE most amazing, wonderful, honest, caring, considerate, genuine (and the list goes on and on and on) person EVER! She makes me think all kinds of naughty things, and I love her for it! So full of awesomeness - SHE ROCKS!
"My boyfriend's back, he's gonna save my reputation…"
- The Angels
Rebel, Young
Oh, my gosh! He's here.
Looking out the window during English Lit., Bella Swan's gaze lands on the only boy who's ever made her heart skip a beat... but just once… well, twice... okay, three times.
Lounging, resting against his solid black motorcycle, all 'devil may care' oozing out of his pores; tall and strong with bronzed skin and slicked back hair the color of midnight oil; boot clad feet crossed, black jeans slung low on hips, tight white t-shirt, black leather jacket, unlit cigarette dangling from his full lips - soft lips that know exactly what to do to take her breath away, plump lips that make her want to bite (well, nibble… no... bite), supple lips that cause her insides to quiver and twist into knots...
Oh, my!
He is digging in his front jean pocket for matches; she is innocently twirling a single curl from her high-and-tight ponytail around her index finger.
He plucks a lone match from the pack with strong, nimble fingers; she imagines… no... she gulps.
He locks eyes with her and lets a sinister smirk play across his lips (ah, those lips...) while he strikes the match, and as the little stick bursts into flames, he quirks his brow suggestively; she squeaks.
Shoot!
Ice runs up her spine as she immediately slaps her hands over her traitorous mouth. With eyes as wide as saucers and a bright blush coloring her cheeks, she turns to Mr. Dooley in chagrin.
"Ms. Swan," he reprimands with pursed lips and a stern stare that's boring a hole straight through her brain. "Is there something you would like to share with the class?"
Oh, no!
They're all looking at her now!
"No, Mr. Dooley," Bella quickly responds as she drops her embarrassed gaze to her lap and starts anxiously picking at nonexistent lint on her pink, poodle skirt.
"Then I'm sure the class would appreciate it if you keep your squealing to yourself for the rest of the period."
"Yes, Sir," she mumbles, still looking down, still picking at imaginary lint.
Only after Mr. Dooley clears his throat to regain the class's attention, and only after she no longer feels the stare of every single person in the room blazing through her, she decides that it is a perfectly acceptable time to roll her eyes; so, out of annoyance, she does, (still looking down, mind you). Blowing a puff of air up from her bottom lip that causes her bangs to flutter off her face, she reminds herself that she is a senior now and will soon be finished with all this ridiculous schooling. Then, she can get married and have babies just like Rosalie.
Eddie Cullen's older sister graduated three years ago and married Emmett, her high school sweetheart and a total dreamboat. They have a little boy, Jasper, who just turned two, and Rosalie's pregnant again.
Ever since Bella was a little girl, she's dreamt of settling down with her own high school sweetheart (who just happens to be Eddie) and having four children (all boys, mind you). That way, she can look after her boys and cook, cook, cook, all day long; it is her favorite pastime after all. Really, what more could a girl ask for?
Unless…
She slowly lifts her head from her lap and turns to look back out the window... again.
Now he's staring off into the woods next to the school, but apparently, while she was dealing with Mr. Dooley's scolding and her own utter humiliation, he had taken his jacket off and laid it across the handlebars, exposing his white t-shirt; his tight, white t-shirt. His biceps are bulging under the short sleeves, and the shirt is hugging his broad shoulders, molded to his muscular chest, sculpted against his... (gulp!)
Oh, my!
Somebody should have warned her that abs can look like that!
Shaking her head to clear the spellbound haze from her mind, she brings her focus back to Mr. Dooley's droning speech.
Ugh! This is the first day of a long year to come, but at least it's the end of the first day.
The school bell rings, signaling freedom, as all the kids jump up in one big whoosh. A flurry of sounds and colors and scents whiz by her as everyone rushes toward the door in an attempt to be the first to escape the classroom prison.
A small, bouncing figure with short, dark hair is jumping up and down in the hallway, frantically waving her arms and trying to get Bella's attention.
She scoops up her books and starts to head out of the room, smiling at Eddie's excitable younger sister on her way toward the hall, and lifting a hand to let her know she's been seen.
"Bella! I missed you sooo much!" Nearly knocking her down, Alice lunges at her with open arms, giving an affectionate hug to Bella, books and all.
"Hey, Alice! Me, too. When did everyone get back? I thought you weren't coming home until next week?"
"Yeah, well Rose decided that we were too much of a distraction to Jasper's routine, so she kicked us out last Friday - can you believe that?!. But, yeah, not until after we were there practically all summer. And, I think that she just wanted to get everything ready for the new baby - you know she's due in like two months, right? Well, anyway, Eddie…"
Oh, shoot!
If Alice is back, then that means…
Oh, boy, she didn't know if she was ready for this. Sure, they'd called and written to each other over the last three months, and yes, she still had his letterman jacket, so they were 'technically' still going steady, but…
Leather jacket... motorcycle... summer nights…
Jacob Black.
Crap!
"Bella? Bella? Earth to Bella? Hey! Are you alright? You had your eyes closed. You can't walk down the hall with your eyes closed, Silly."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, it's just… (sigh). It was a busy day, Alice; I'm just tired is all." Shrugging a shoulder up to her ear, Bella mentally crosses her fingers and hopes that the little, bouncing girl will buy her story.
Apparently, she does. "Okay, well look. Eddie wants you to meet him in the gym. He's gonna drive you home, so you don't have to walk. Then he's gonna come back for after-school practice."
Double crap!
"Umm… okay. Thanks, Alice."
"Yeah, no problem. I gotta go. I'm gonna catch up with Jess. Apparently her and Mike are a thing now!" Alice squeals as she does a little bunny hop in shared excitement of her friend's news. As she takes off running down the emptying hall, she yells over her shoulder, "Bye, Bella!" just before rounding the corner.
Wowzer!
Bella leans her back against the wall, lightly thumps her head into the cement cinder blocks, hugging her books a little too tight, and actually groans.
Her boyfriend's back from his summer vacation, but she's still not back down to earth from the high of her summer fling. The fling who, right now, just happens to be leaning against his motorcycle in the front parking lot of the school. Her school! Eddie's school!
Indignation flares and tempts Bella to walk right up to Mr. Smug-as-Heck-Jacob-Black and push him into his dumb, old motorcycle. Hopefully, both the boy and his toy would go tumbling down.
What is he doing here anyway? He knew what this summer was. They had just been hanging on the Reservation because their fathers were childhood friends and wanted to go fishing every chance they got. Jake and Bella just developed a friendship is all.
Except that one time… well, twice… okay, three times.
Oof!
And with that, Bella stamps her foot; she literally stamps her foot right in the middle of the senior hall of Forks High while her boyfriend waits for her in the gym, and sweet, tantalizing trouble waits for her in the parking lot.
Unable to hold up the wall for the rest of her life, she decides to take her chances and run out to Jake to beg him to leave before Eddie sees him. But just as she turns to make her way to the front exit of the school, she hears the gym doors crash open behind her, and the loud, rambunctious camaraderie of the basketball team… of Eddie's team, comes barreling out.
Triple crap!
"Bella," Eddie croons as he comes running up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her off her feet. He swings her around in a circle, her legs flailing like a ragdoll, as he laughs against her ear.
Putting her back down and turning her around by her shoulders, he looks into her eyes and kisses her right in the middle of her forehead. Pulling his lips back with a smack, eyes all bright and shiny, he grins the biggest she's ever seen, and admits, "I've missed you, Baby."
And with that, her heart breaks a little.
"Oh! Yeah, me too, Eddie."
While regarding her momentarily, and obviously expecting a more enthusiastic greeting, Bella notices the slight sting of rejection that flashes through his eyes. "Well, aren't ya' glad to see me?"
"No… I mean, yeah, yeah, Eddie. I'm just…" searching for something, anything, to grab onto, Bella reaches, "I wasn't expecting you so early is all! You just surprised me!"
Mentally rolling her eyes at her too eager ending, she ducks her head, looks up at him through a veil of lashes, plasters on the most innocent and sincere smile she can muster, and she hopes that, just like Alice, he buys it.
Apparently, he does. "Ah, shucks, Bella, I know how you girls get all worked up over stuff, but just don't wig out, 'kay?"
Whew!
"So, where were you going anyway? Didn't Alice tell you I was waitin' for ya'?"
"Uhh…" searching, "I was coming to meet you, but…" grabbing, "yeah, I just thought I left something in English class."
"Well, let's go get it then."
"Nah, it's okay, Eddie. I actually have everything I need." Fake smile quickly jumps to her lips and firmly plants itself, but unfortunately, fake smiles don't reach the eyes.
Pleeeeaase drop it…
Lifting a single brow and looking at her like she's gone bonkers, Eddie decides to just let this one pass; no doubt chalking it up to female foolishness.
Gosh, sometimes it's great to be a girl.
"Oooookaaay. Well, let's get you home; you are obviously tired."
He plops a heavy arm over her shoulders and turns his head back to his team as he starts to guide her down the hall, "I'll be back in a bit, Fellas. Gotta take this one home."
From the snickers Bella hears behind her back, Eddie has obviously shown off to the boys at her expense, and as she puffs air up her face to flutter her bangs, indignation flames inside of her... again. But this time, it is directed straight at Mr. Girls-are-Silly-Edward-Cullen.
Sure, her boyfriend is super popular and super cute with his mess of copper hair, angular features, and green eyes; and yes, she is the envy of all the girls in school; but sometimes, he can just be so incorrigible!
As they push through the front doors of the school, some of the kids are still milling around in the parking lot. Groups here and there: some are waiting on rides, and some are just catching up after three summer months apart.
Stepping onto the sidewalk that flanks the school, Bella shivers under Eddie's arm.
"You cold?" he asks.
"A little," she lies.
She jerks her gaze toward the black motorcycle parked cock-eyed in the loading-zone next to the unused handicap spot, and immediately locks eyes with cause of her nervous tremors: him.
If her stomach could enter the Olympics, it would definitely win gold for women's gymnastics right about now.
Eddie's arm tenses and pulls her in closer as he obviously notices the bronzed god standing between them and the car.
Oh, boy!
Bella bows her head and watches her own feet shuffle across the parking lot, playing her part to avoid a confrontation because these two boys have never liked each other.
She doesn't even know why they still bother with ancient history, but apparently Eddie's dad, who is the town doctor by the way, tried to provide medical services to the families on the Reservation when he first moved to Forks (years before either boy currently in the parking lot was born, mind you). Well, Jake's dad, the head honcho over on the Reservation, got all worked up about territorial boundaries or something and told the doc that he could practice all the medicine he wanted to in Forks, but that he was not allowed to step on tribal land ever again.
So, years later, here they all stand, having a staring contest in front of the local high school with Bella trapped in the middle, both literally and figuratively.
Eddie leans in and talks low, "Don't worry, Bella, I got you. Just keep walking."
What?!
Unperturbed by Jake and his motorcycle, Eddie continues to play chicken as her body begins to tingle with electricity, starting at the base of her skull. He is guiding her along the most direct route to his car, and straight passed the only boy who has ever made her heart go pitter-patter... once… maybe twice… well, okay, three times.
She is within inches of him but still trapped under her boyfriend's arm when she hears her name called out on a whisper.
"Bellahhh."
Wrenching her head toward Jake, she immediately freezes, lost in his intense stare that releases a flight of butterflies deep in her stomach.
Oh, how she wants to reach out and touch him, to be embraced in his strong capable arms, this boy that makes her body react in such extreme ways. So much of what happens around him is involuntary and uncontrolled that she realizes, a little too late, that a whimper has actually escaped from her lips.
Oh, no.
Eddie's arm is really tense now as he turns both of their bodies to face his opponent and hisses, "I'm warning you, Black!"
Ever so slowly, languidly even, Jake lifts just his gaze from her Bambi eyes and lets it fall heavy on Eddie's offended expression, and the boy with the motorcycle just... simply... smirks.
Gah!
It is the most devilish twist to anyone's lips that Bella has ever seen, but it is wild and far out and it sends another jolt to her system and, this time, weakens her knees.
Apparently, deciding that it wasn't worth the trouble (or probably Jake scared the bejesus out of him), Eddie huffs out a disgruntled breath and spins them toward the car, ushering her along at a quickened pace and positively fuming.
Opening the driver's door on his brand spanking new 1955 Chevy Bel Air, Eddie steps back and waits (not so patiently, mind you) for her to get in and slide across the full bench seat. Fighting the magnetic pull of the boy on the motorcycle, but never one to question her boyfriend, she does as requested, shimmying in behind the wheel and scooting over with Eddie hot on her heels. Ducking in after her, and jamming the key in the ignition, he cranks the beast of a car and jerks it into reverse, leaving Jake in the parking lot, still leaning against his motorcycle, and still holding her desire in the palm of his hand.
The overbearing weight of apprehension suffocates her in the closed-in car, and she desperately needs to lighten the mood. Looking around the expansive cabin, she decides to talk about something that all boys love - their cars.
"So, when did you get this?"
"Huh?" Eddie glances over at her while she motions toward the dashboard. "Oh. Pops gave it to me for my senior year."
… more silence...
… more apprehension...
"Oh, uh, it looks nice in blue." Bella tries again.
"Yeah, yeah… Look can we not talk about the car?"
Eddie has a white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel as he turns to her and demands (a little too loudly, mind you), "Just what the heck was that back there, Bella? Why was that Greaser sitting at our school? Just who was he waiting for? 'Cause it sure looked a lot like he was waiting on you!"
Yikes!
"I… Uh… I don't know, Eddie. How'm I supposed to know what he was doing?" (Invisible poodle-skirt-lint be gone!)
"Because your dad is his dad's best friend! You should know what goes on up there on the Reservation!" (Oh, he's mad!)
"Well, I don't! And don't call him a Greaser either! You don't know any of them up there!" (And now, so is she!)
Huffing a breath through his nose like a bull, Eddie silently steams as he drives her the rest of the way home without another word.
Pulling into her driveway, and before he fully stops, she pops the handle and hops out of the car. Grabbing hold of the heavy door, she hears him yell at her back, "I BETTER NOT CATCH THAT KID AROUND YOU AGAIN, BELLA, OR I SWEAR I'M GONNA…"
And with that, she slams the door on his threat and stomps her feet all the way to her front porch.
Bending down to grab the house key from under the welcome mat, she listens as his car peels out of her driveway and roars down the street. With the ominous weight lifted, she realizes, for the first time in the last hour, that she can actually breathe. Taking advantage of the fresh Washington air, she inhales deeply and exhales slowly a few times before she turns the key and unlocks her front door.
Thinking that she could use a relaxing walk through the woods to clear her head, Bella runs up the stairs to her room, dropping her books on the little desk next to her bed, and quickly changes into her favorite pair of black capris.
Just as she is tying the last string on her white and black, saddle shoes, she is suddenly alerted to a deep, low rumbling coming down the street… her street. Jerking her head up toward the window, her heart accelerates from zero-to-sixty in under two seconds, and another set of butterflies are released.
Gah!
Jumping off the bed, she races out of her room, back down the stairs, and freezes, stuck between her desires and what's proper (of which the two rarely see eye-to-eye, at least in her experience).
Bella focuses on the front door, imagining the scene on the other side where the motorcycle's engine has just been cut. Slowly forcing her body to move closer to the entrance, her gaze inadvertently washes over Eddie's letterman jacket hanging on the coat rack in the foyer. A small pang of guilt stabs at her heart just before she remembers that he called him a Greaser!
This realization kickstarts her body, and she is once again careening toward the door, grabbing the handle, and swinging it open with a little too much force.
And again, she is lost in the visceral beauty of the sight in front of her.
Legs straddling the motorcycle, leaning down on arms that are crossed over the handlebars, all 'devil may care'... again, Jake lifts his chin and looks up at her. Quirking a single brow, he growls the simple fact, "I knew you'd come."
Oh, my gosh!
This boy is positively undomesticated!
Never lessening the intensity in his dark gaze full of promise and mystery that holds her in place on her front porch, he slowly swings his leg over the motorcycle and with an unhurried grace, he moves toward her, smooth and free like water over rocks. And Bella realizes that she can't breathe… again. Her inhales are shallow and her exhales are almost nonexistent. As her head gets light and as her spine tingles, she is aware of how deeply under his spell she truly is, and how much she does not want to ever see clearly again.
He is on her now… soooo close she can feel the heat from his body (ah, that body...).
"Stop. Biting. Your. Lip. Bella."
EEK!
A private smile dances on his lips and in his eyes as it dawns on her that his amusement is at her expense.
But this time, with him, she doesn't care.
"So, what are you gonna tell, Eddie-boy?" (Oh, no! Not the smirk again!)
"Well, what exactly are you saying to me Mr. Black?" (Oh, two can play this game…)
"We both know what you want. But it's not something you can have. Unless…" (Ignore the eyebrow!)
No, two cannot play; two most definitely cannot play!
An annoying, high-pitched ringing is looping through her ears and as she tilts her head to the side in confusion, Jake's devious smirk turns into an all-out sunny smile. "You gonna get that?"
As she frantically blinks to clear her head of the cobwebs, she realizes that her muddled mind was not playing tricks on her. The incessant ringing was coming from the telephone hanging on her kitchen wall.
Turning back into the house, she runs for the phone, desperately accepting any distraction so that she can give herself time to think things through.
"BELLA!" (Request for distraction: denied.)
Crap!
"Yes, Ed-ward." She could do icy.
"I've been thinking 'bout it - I couldn't even go back to practice this has me so upset - I'm serious, Bella, I don't want that kid anywhere near you." (Oh, he is demanding.)
Bella hears the front door close and looks up to see Jake saunter into her living room. The intensity present in his coal black eyes pins her to the counter, and as she stares back at him, she realizes that she simply cannot let this boy go!
"Well, Eddie, that's not gonna happen. You see our fathers are frien…"
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT, BELLA!"
She listens to his heavy breathing on the other end of the line as he tries to calm himself down, and turning to face the window, she waits.
"Sorry. But that Greaser just gets me all worked up is all."
She is sure that Eddie truly thought that he was apologizing to her, but like she'd already told him, no one can call Jake that, especially him! And this just happens to be their biggest problem: Eddie does not listen to her… pretty much, EVER!
With frozen water chilling her veins, Bella spits acid through her gritted teeth; low, quiet, and sinister, "I told you not to ever call him that again."
Behind her, she hears Jake chuckle, and apparently, Eddie does, too.
"IS HE THERE NOW, BELLA? YOU BETTER MAKE HIM LEAVE! IT'S HIM OR ME, BELLA 'CAUSE YOU KNOW I'M NOT SHARING! AND YOU BETTER MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE!"
She turns and locks eyes with Jake, and finally being honest with herself, she acknowledges that he has held her heart all...summer… long. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she metaphorically leaps, "It's him."
A sharp inhale on the other end of the line followed by… nothing.
Bella stands there with the telephone against her ear, basking in the afterglow of her decision, watching the boy who is nonchalantly leaning into the frame of her kitchen door, and she is unequivocally, without a doubt, 100% sure that she would do anything he asks.
"Eddie, I have to go. My boyfriend's back."
And with that, she hangs up the telephone, cutting off a series of screeches that are coming through the line.
Feeling an enormous amount of relief, Bella smiles at Jake, all sunshine and rainbows, as the heaviness immediately lifts from her shoulders. She feels so light and airy that she can easily imagine her body floating up to cloud nine all on its own.
Holding his hand out to her, and mirroring the joy that he evidently sees in her face, Jake is asking her to trust him. Placing her hand in his open palm, she answers him with a resounding, "Yes!"
"Come on, Bella. Let's go somewhere."
"Where?"
"You know."
And with that, another burst of butterflies escapes because, yes, she does know.
As they walk back out the front door, she passes by Eddie's letterman jacket and imagines Jake's leather jacket hanging in its place. A small, private smile crosses her lips, and she decides to just return Eddie's things to Alice tomorrow at school.
Closing and locking the door, she turns around and smacks right into Jake. He's looking down at her with adoration running behind his eyes as he states the simple fact, "I knew you'd come."
Smiling up at him, she nods, and they walk hand-in-hand down the steps and onto the driveway.
Bella stands back and appreciates his long, lean body as he throws his leg over the motorcycle. Straddling in behind him, she wraps her arms around his waist, feeling each of his muscles flex under his shirt, and mentally doing the 'happy dance' as they make their way to the cliffs of La Push. The place where Jake will make her heart skip a beat today... for the fourth time.
* Alright, hit me with your thoughts and "feels" if ya wanna. ;-)