Title: They Say It's Gonna Rain
Rating: PG
Fandom: Twilight
Pairing: Angela/Jacob
Summary: Jacob has something that he's not sharing with Angela.
Disclaimer: Yeahhh, right. I own everything. (Read: not.)
Notes: This is AU and written in present tense, which is all kinds of new for me. ^^ Also written for the afictionado_com's no 'ly' adverb challenge on LJ. (Which basically just means this piece of work doesn't have any adverbs that end in –ly in it, which is seriously a hard thing to do because I love those kinds of adverbs and depend on them major; it's also won that challenge! with a tie, but still won!)
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They keep saying things to her, and the most disconcerting thing is Angela can't figure out what they mean.
They speak in vague, cryptic tones, with implications and meanings underneath them.
Like: Jacob's not like every other boy. Jacob's got secrets and he can hurt you.
Of course, she knows that- at least it is always in the back of her mind. She knows he has his secrets; he's, after all, a very private person, and everyone on the planet has a secret or two, some might be major, others minor. What matters is that everyone is entitled to their own secrets. She respects that, and she thinks that shouldn't mean that she can't like him.
Other people have a different view, it seems.
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For one, Bella Swan is the first one to allude to Jacob's secrets.
"Angela," she starts one day, picking at her lunch, but not gazing up at her friend, "do you really like Jacob?"
Angela thinks that this is all because Jacob loved her first; after all, it's natural for Bella to be a little jealous. Angela understands, and doesn't begrudge Bella's questions.
"Yes." And Bella doesn't have time to school her features into something other than horror and pain at the simple honesty in Angela's voice.
Angela is sympathetic, sure, but she still hurts as everyone does.
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For the rest of the week, though, no one broaches the subject of Angela and Jacob becoming an item, although Angela watches the concerned and worried gazes pass between the Cullen family and Bella on the sly.
Angela feels something monstrous and ugly flare inside her.
How dare they?
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Friday comes not soon enough, and Angela meets Jacob in a small café in Port Angeles for dinner and a movie.
They eat in a comfortable silence for most of dinner. But then, Angela gets curious.
"Jake, do the Cullens hate you for some reason?"
Jake gives a surprised laugh at that. "Well, kind of."
Angela waits for an elaboration, but it never comes. Oh. Of course. Edward and Bella. They're the ones that everything always comes back to.
It's natural: Jacob has loved Bella just as Edward loves her now. This time, it's harder for Angela to find a speck of understanding within her. But she tries like she had never tried before.
The interrogation stops for the remainder of dinner, and during the movie, they don't have the chance for a chat. Angela thinks it's for the better; Jake would just be dodgy and obscure with his answers.
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They're eating lunch in the cafeteria when a thought all of a sudden comes to Angela. Her fork is hanging without direction in midair and her face is tilted to the side a little, a questioning look on her face. Jacob stops twirling the apple in his hands, and asks, "what?"
"Nothing, I just realized something- you've become taller."
"Well, um, yeah. It's what growing boys do, Angela."
She can't stop her eyes from rolling. "I know that, it's just you've grown like four inches in the past week. It's just not normal even for a growth spurt."
She goes back to eating her salad, missing the look that passes Jacob's face.
****
"Angela, I have to tell you something," Jacob starts when she opens her front door. He looks disheveled- his hair sticking up in all directions as though his hand has been through it many times over and his clothes look like they were thrown on at random and give him a lopsided look. He's still cute as ever though, Angela thinks, and gives him a kiss on his warm cheek as a greeting.
"Is everything okay?" She questions, taking his hand and leading him into the living room, where the DVD player was all set for their movie night.
"That depends." He sinks down heavily onto the sofa, and runs his hand thru his hair with a nervous gesture.
"Okay," Angela is starting to get worried now. He sounds nervous and not at all like himself; something horrible indeed must be on his mind.
"Um, you know what? I'd rather not talk about it now."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, it's nothing-" He stops and grins, a little bit of the nervousness that he came with falling away by this sudden decision to avoid the subject- at least for the time being, Angela hopes.
"It doesn't sound like it's nothing, but if you're positive…" Angela wants to press but she knows that if Jacob isn't ready to tell her, no amount of cajoling will change it.
And so, as she settles into Jacob's arms and The Dark Knight, to her surprise, she finds that she's alright with whatever Jacob's not telling her. Everyone has secrets, and, if and when Jacob's willing to share some of his, she'll be there to listen.
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