White, Cold Feet
I could hear it. My dirge. My funeral march. The organ notes brought me forward with steady steps, firm hands keeping me up as everyone stood and watched.
My wedding.
I was eighteen. My God, I was only eighteen and a ball and chain was about to be eternally tied to my left hand, index finger. The rock that weighed me down there already winked a cold eye at me, and I tried not to look at it. Looking at anything was a guaranteed way to faint dead away. Even watching my white shoed feet mince forward, staggering like a stork on stilts, didn't help. Charlie's hand was stiff; he didn't want to give me away, not to him, not now.
Him. The sight of him in the tux took my breath away. His golden eyes sparkled as he tried, for my sake, to subdue a full-blown grin. I appreciated the effort, but the happiness that radiated from every pore. Alice glowed unabashedly behind him, Rosalie and Angela lined up daintily behind where I would soon be standing. Where I should be standing.
This is the only way I'll become a vampire, I reminded myself. The only way he would change me, and give me immortality and perfect beauty. The strength to defend myself. The strength to-
I felt faint. I didn't have the strength to do this, not now, not ever. Not with all those faces looking at me. Just look at Billy, you would swear someone injected liquid nitrogen in his veins. I could feel the cold resentment freezing me over. Jessica and Mike were so stunned, and even Angela looked like she expected to wake up any minute. Renee wouldn't even come, she was trying to make a stubborn statement. It all felt like a dream, some horrible eighteenth century nightmare had crawled out of my subconscious and taken over my life.
But him. I didn't doubt that I loved him. My knees went weak just seeing him there. Eternity with him I could do. Eternity, but not matrimony.
A heard a roar, and I placed a hand over my mouth. Had a bestial cry just slipped my lips, just to add to the list of things I would have to explain my way out of? I noticed that no one was looking at me, though, and Alice's face went stone still. Edward's eyebrows furrowed together as he glared at the door.
Only one person could have that kind of reaction on him. Only one person could have surprised Alice. And that one person wasn't sitting beside Billy, because he was sitting on a motorcycle outside of the church. People watched as if waiting for him to come in, but noticing Edward's panicked expression, I realized that wasn't what he was here for.
The engine only had to rev once before my feet heard the beckon. It rumbled through the floor, and in a moment I had kicked off my shoes, broken Charlie's grip, and let my other Bella.
Charlie looked half-ready to stop me, but his face was conflicted enough that it bought me enough time. Enough time to unturn my knees from jelly and make a mad break for it.
On a normal day, Edward would have had me before I took a step. But this wasn't a normal day, this was a wedding day, and with all the people watching he couldn't just break out into full vampire speed to take off after some young pup's Harley.
Flinging the doors aside, I saw Jacob Black. All six foot seven of him, with shiny black hair, a deep tan and a black t-shirt, jeans – a daring move, should he have to transform. He had a motorcycle helmet tucked under his arm. He grinned, and the sun rose on my nightmare and dispelled every shadow. Running over, I mounted behind them.
"Since when did you need a helmet?" I asked, settling on the back part of the seat.
"For the cargo," he snorted. "That glorified spider web won't do you any good when we're blasting out of here."
People were running to the door, starting to gather quickly, so he kicked up and took off like a bullet, probably to the only place in Forks where Edward wouldn't chase me: La Push.
The wind tickled my hair that peeked out from where my helmet rested on the nape of my neck. Arms tucked around Jacob, feeling the heat from his back, the heat from the bike, and the heat from the sun, I was blasted by the freedom of it. "What do you think Edward will say?" I asked, shouting over the engine.
"How should I know? He's the one reading my mind right now," Jacob called back. He tossed his chin-length hair. "I'm thinking really hard about all the reasons why he shouldn't chase me."
"This doesn't change anything," I called up hesitantly. Just because I left him at the altar in all shame and ignominy didn't mean I didn't love him. I guess explaining my fear of commitment was something I should have done a long time ago.
"That was the first reason I thought of," he said, laughing. "Not to mention the reason I'm doing it!" Turning off into the tree-lined path, I could feel him grin as he let out a breath. "Nothing will change, and it gives us a little longer to chill before we can't stand the smell of each other."
"I don't plan to stop bathing soon," I joked. The world flew by, and yet it had stopped at the same time. I was human, only human, and even if Alice would kill me, Edward would hate me, Charlie wouldn't know what to do with me and everyone in Forks thought I was insane, this gave me just one more time to hear my heart race and feel the world stop as I spent one final time with my best friend.
I would pay for it, but the price would be right by me.
A/N A bit of fun fluff that I hope your heart was at least a little warmed by:-) I'll always be a staunch Jacob fan, though Edward is pretty stellar too. Really, some girls have all the luck! Happy writing!