~~Heyy! So, I was listening to a little MJ [meaning Thriller and Billie Jean... the only two MJ tracks I own...] and reading some TwiFanFic, when this little story line popped up in my crazy head. I thought it was interesting, and figured, why the heck not. So, here you go! And, as always, don't forget to reviieew! :]~~
~~Oh, right, and I don't own Twilight. Now you may enjoy my masterpiece-in-progress~~
Might As Well Call Her Billy Jean...
"Bells, I'm here!" A loud voice called from the door.
"I'm in the kitchen, Jake! Come on in!" Bella called back, shuffling around, preparing the food for her, Charlie – her dad – and Jake's dinner.
Jacob loped into the kitchen, ruffling with his black hair to get the water out. "Hey." He said, plopping down into a chair and breathing in deep through his nose. "That smells great. Whatchya cooking?"
"Lasagna." She answered, peeking into the oven to check on its progress.
Jake licked his lips in anticipation. "Want some help?" he asked.
"Uh, yeah, I guess. Can you get the lettuce out of the fridge and start on the salad?"
"Sure, sure." He said, and was soon digging around for the food.
"Hey, what did you say Billy had to do that he had to miss out on my fantastic cooking skills?" Bella asked, leaning against the counter.
Jake snorted, emerging from the fridge. "He's got some sort of council business." He shrugged. "Don't ask me what it's all about, he just said it was urgent and unexpected, and rolled out the door to meet Harry outside." Grabbing a bowl out of the cabinet, he started mixing the salad.
Bella frowned, fiddling with a strand of her long brown hair. "I hope everything's ok..." she muttered absently.
"Oh, I'm sure it's fine, Bells. If it was anything big Billy would've told me about it." He rolled his eyes at her. Bella was always worrying needlessly.
Nodding, she turned to get three plates. "Yeah, I guess you're right." she said, still uncertain. For some reason, she felt like something was wrong... like something was about to happen...
"Mmm, Bella, that was great." Charlie sighed appreciatively, patting his stomach as he leaned back in his chair after dinner.
"Yeah, it really was, Bells." Jacob agreed, stretching his long, dark arms over his head.
Bella laughed, getting up to clear the table. "Glad you guys liked it."
Jake's chair scraped against the floor as he stood up hastily. "Let me help you with that." He insisted, snatching his own plate before she could.
Raising an eyebrow at him, she shrugged and turned towards the sink.
"I'm... gonna go watch the game." Charlie said awkwardly, hurrying out of there.
Bella snorted. "That man hates any sort of tension." She muttered, shaking her head as she thought of her father.
"Yeah." Jake laughed quietly. "You'd think he'd be fine with it, by now, being on the force for so long."
She nodded, laughing a bit herself. It was true. Charlie'd been the chief of police in little Forks, Washington for years. He should know how to navigate a little bit of awkwardness.
Bella and Jake washed the dishes in a comfortable silence, smiling at each other every time their eyes met. Which was actually fairly often, due to Jacob's not-so-subtle staring...
All of the sudden, a dish dropped out of Bella's slippery hands, landing right back into the soapy water, causing a good amount to splash onto the floor. "Shoot..." she muttered, spinning around to grab a dishtowel. That wasn't the best idea, though, seeing as she never had the best balance, and there was water under her feet.
She felt the floor slip out from under her, and she flailed her arms, trying to catch herself as she fell backwards. Two strong arms beat her to the chase, catching her on the way down and holding her steady.
Bella let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "Thanks, Jake." She whispered, smiling slightly.
"Anytime." He whispered back.
They didn't move, just staring at each other, Jake's arms around Bella, her leaning most of her weight on him, gripping his shoulders. Swiftly, he stood her on her feet, smiling coyly. "You know I'll always catch you." he said, leaning in slowly to kiss her.
She laughed and pulled him closer to her, crushing her lips to his. Sighing, she snaked her fingers through his hair, once again marveling at the silkiness.
Jake chuckled throatily, pulling back slightly. He leaned his forehead on Bella's as he asked, "Did you forget about Charlie?"
She absentmindedly traced the contours of his right bicep. "Did I forget about my father, who more than supports our relationship?" She hinted. "Please, Jacob."
He smiled and kissed her forehead, trailing down her nose, to her mouth, then cheek, along her jaw line, finally pausing at her ear. "He may more than support our relationship, but I don't think he'd be too happy about me devouring his little girl in his kitchen." He whispered, enjoying the goose bumps that rose in response to his breath.
Bella bit her lip and closed her eyes, relishing in the feeling of his lips at her ear and the picture he'd painted with his words. "Charlie, shmarlie." She breathed, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.
Then they heard the man in question shout something unintelligible at the TV, then towards the kitchen, "Jake! You gotta see this! This ref is crazy!"
Sighing, Bella let go reluctantly. "Go on, yell at the TV about bad calls." She teased.
Jake gave her a peck on the lips. "I'll make it up to you, I promise." He whispered.
"Damn straight you will. Now, go." She flicked his chest before he turned and sauntered towards the living room.
"What's all this I heard about a crazy ref?" Bella heard him ask Charlie.
Giggling at the men, Bella sank into a chair, leaning her elbows on the kitchen table. A low buzzing noise caught her attention, and she turned to see Jake's cell phone lighting up and vibrating on his chair. She grabbed the phone, thinking that it might be Billy. It was a text.
But... Billy can't text. He's far too old fashioned for that. He'd rather go hoarse from talking for hours than mess with a "contraption" like that. So, who was it? Maybe it was Quil or Embry...
Hesitantly, Bella opened the text. It read:
Jake. I know you got those other messages. You and I NEED to talk. There are... things you need to see. And hear. Please. At least call me.
-Lizzie
Lizzie... Bella didn't think she knew a Lizzie, and she knew everyone in La Push and Forks. True, there were a few Elizabeths, but only one that she knew of who would want anyone to call her Lizzie, and she was 55. And always called Jake a punk. No, definitely not that Lizzie... And what would this girl need to talk to Jake about so badly?
Isabella Marie Swan! She scolded herself. What the heck are you doing? You're analyzing Jake's texts like he's some sort of criminal! Of course he's going to have friends you don't know about! Maybe Lizzie moved away before you came to Forks. It's no big deal. Stop playing the jealous girlfriend.
But somehow, she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling, even as she set the phone down on the table. Staring at it, the thing seemed to emanate smugness for causing such suspicion.
"Bells?" Jake's voice – though soft and extremely nonthreatening – startled Bella, causing her to snap her head up.
She exhaled loudly when she realized who it was. "Oh, hey. Game over, or is it halftime?"
Jake smirked. "Halftime." He took a seat next to her, just noticing the phone in front of her hands. "Where was it?"
"Where was what?" Bella asked, coming out of her thoughts that had consumed her again in the short silence.
"My phone."
She looked down at the little black rectangle on the table. "Oh, it was, uh, on your chair. Must've fallen out of your pocket."
Jake nodded.
Bella couldn't hold it in any longer. "You got a text." She said, grateful her voice didn't tremble.
"Oh. From who?" he asked, picking up the phone.
"I dunno. Some girl named Lizzie..." She trailed off, shrugging and looking down at the table. It didn't go unnoticed by her that Jake stiffened at the name.
Jake sighed, clearly exasperated, opening the text to see what had Bella acting all weird. His eyes scanned over the words; it was really just a rewording of the past texts and messages he'd received from Lizzie for the past month. That he'd ignored. And deleted. And kept from his girlfriend...
"So... uh, do you know what she needs to talk to you about?" Bella asked as she shifted her weight nervously.
"Um, yeah..." Jake put the phone down. "Sorta. I'm sure it's no big deal. Lizzie has a tendency to blow things out of proportion in her favor, anyway." He shrugged, purposefully downplaying the issue. He was actually sure it was a big deal, but nothing that he wanted to face. Not now, when Bella was his. Not ever.
"Ok." Bella sighed, not believing him for a minute. She'd known Jake for too long to be fooled by his 'nah, it's fine!' act. But she'd let him tell her when – not if, when; he was going to tell her one way or another – he was ready.
Jake smiled at her. "You wanna go to my house? I'm sure it's better than sitting around here doing nothing but listening to Charlie yell at the Packers."
Right on cue, Charlie let out a big, drawn out "Aw, no!", and the couple started laughing.
"Do you think your dad's back yet?" Bella asked as they started to breathe normally once again.
"Nah, I'd bet he'll be gone most of the night..." Jake trailed off, winking.
Bella shoved his arm, laughing again. "Let's go, you big pervert."
Jake chuckled. "You know you love me." He teased, standing up and pulling her with him.
"And you're lucky I do, or I would've killed you by now." She joked back, kissing his smiling lips softly.
~~*sigh* I love cute couples like that...
Ok, so, tell me any thoughts, anything you think I should change, what you think of the plot, yatta yatta.
Ooooo, and a special thanks to my wonderful Miss Rene, who actually convinced me to add MJ to my insanely-crowded music folder. Love you chica :]
-sings- Reviews are my sunshine, my only sunshine, they make me happyy! When skys are grayyy... You'll never know, dear! How much I love them... Please give me, some sunshine today... ;]
FIRST REVIEWER gets my first-reviewer-virtual-cookie-that-you-can't-really-eat-but-gives-you-a-sort-of-strange-satisfaction...-cookie-thingy. Yum, sounds delicious, eh?
Lots of love and huggies,
Rach xo~~
~~PS. How many of you can remember who Lizzie is? Yes, she's in the books. Teeny tiny part, only one chapter in one book, BUT, she's there. Now, watch everyone who doesn't know lose sleep over this... heehee... ~~