Your Rock.
Summary: Jacob's teaching Bella gymnastics. That is, until Edward comes to bust up the party.
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, New Moon or any recognizable characters in this story. It's all Stephenie Meyer's.
(Jacob POV)
"Convince me I won't break anything." She commanded, her eyes shut tightly.
I laughed, "I could sell you a couple of lines, but I can't guarantee you'll buy them." She sighed and I could fell her tense beside me.
"Relax." I soothed, and she actually did. "Now," I began again, placing my hands on both her shoulders. "Stand straight. Bend your legs a bit." Bella obeyed, but she slightly slouched. "No, no. Puff your chest out a bit."
She turned red, then I realized what I had just instructed her to do, however she complied. "Good, now put your arms out in front of you…kinda like Frankenstein." She smiled. It sent daggers through my heart, knowing she wasn't mine. Nor would she ever be.
Bella was set. She was ready. She could do this. She could be brave.
"Alright, you're good. Now I'll…I'll spot you." I gulped, then prayed she hadn't heard me. I pressed the palm of my left hand against the small of her back. I'd done this before, this wasn't the hard part.
Here we go… I lifted my right hand, but not before wiping the sweat off on my jeans. I lightly set it on the bottom of her thigh. Just below the hem of her shorts. Time seemed to slow immensely. I felt my skin getting warmer, and was sure she could too. I heard a sharp intake of breath, and realized it was me. This was going just swell. But, gosh, she was so smooth, and she was cool against my burning skin.
Re-composing myself, I instructed further. "Okay, now remember how we practiced. Bounce a little bit, the propel yourself backwards. Don't worry, I'll always be right here behind you. Don't be afraid." I wondered if she could read the double meaning in the measly words I'd just spoken. It was all I could give to her. Suddenly, I felt her hand reach back and cover mine.
"If you drop me, I'll kill you." I could see her teeth shining in the light of the moon.
"I'll be your rock, Bells." I laughed, but tightened my grip in case I did slip. "Ready?"
"Ready." And she began to bounce slightly. One, two, three, four, five…her arms flew backwards. I was completely unready. I had forgotten to give her that extra push, and now she was just hanging there. Her head tilted back, her arms dangling in thin air...and me losing my balance. Uh oh.
I could feel my legs giving out, and suddenly, we were both on the ground. She yelped, then hit the grass hard. I caught myself before I landed on her, my arms outstretched beside her ears. We were both breathing hard.
"Umm…" I stuttered.
"Some rock." She sneered, but then she broke out in a grin. She started giggling like mad. I was relieved, I started laughing too.
I rolled beside her, landing on the soft grass. We laughed until she got the hiccups. We basked in the irony, awkwardness and yet all around comfort of being able to trust your best friend to always be beside you, lest he forget to be behind you. We lay in a peaceful calmness, looking up at the massive night sky. She grabbed my arm, and pointed to a cluster of starts overhead.
"Look, that one looks like a dog. A wolf. It's you." She gazed and traced the outline in mid air.
"It is, isn't it?" But I wasn't looking at the sky. She turned to me, her dark brown eyes absorbing all the light from the moon. The full shape of her lips illuminated by the stars. The night held no secrets. I felt exposed. Bella lying next to me, staring in to my eyes, I felt as if I couldn't keep anything from her. That is, until she turned her face back towards the sky. She shivered in the late night chill. I reached out, unknowingly, to stroke her pale cheek. She grabbed my hand and placed it fully where I touched.
"You feel so warm against the wind." She sighed and moved closer to me. I knew this was just a friendly motion for her, but I wanted so much more.
I shifted and was overtop of her again. She slowly opened her eyes to stare up at me. I took her in, I could see her in a new light. I was going to regret this later, but it seemed as if all of my sense was resting with the stars right now. I leaned down, slowly closing the space that served as a barrier between our faces.
Her eyes grew wider and I was so close. Barely a millimeter away until she turned her face so that my lips brushed her cheek. That was a slap in the face. A kick when I was down. Defeated.
But what was I thinking?! She'd voiced more than enough times that the relationship we had was between two friends. Two completely disarranged and emotional wrecks that served as people, but we had each other nonetheless. Only, just as friends. Bella belonged to Edward. I knew that, she knew that and most of all, he knew that.
"Jacob." She spoke softly. I had to face it. I had to capture the pride I had left. I looked into her eyes.
"You know we can't." She whispered, touching my face. "Edward would-"
"I know, I know!" I hissed. "I know, Bella." My voice lowered. "I know, and I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I apologize, that was completely savage of me."
"It's okay, Jake. Really, I mean, I understand. But you know what we talked about. Just friends, right?"
"Right." I sighed.
"Jacob."
"Bella, you know how I feel about you. That won't change. This is gonna sound weird, but, when I'm with you I guess I just lose it. I wasn't thinking earlier. To be so close to you and know you'll never be mine and that your…heart belongs to that bl- I mean Cullen. Edward. I can't change it Bella, but I'm having trouble accepting it."
"Jacob, you know I love you. I care about you and I need you in my life. But I love Edward and I need him too. I feel very differently about the both of you, but I'd die without either. Please understand that I'm not trying to hurt you. You can't just change these things, though. Remember? No matter what you love."
"I remember." I said and sank back down onto the grass, mentally beating myself up for what had just happened. We lay there for a while longer, just absorbing in the night, thinking things over, unaware of the others' presence, but perfectly fine with it.
I sensed Bella shifting beside me, and turned my head to look at her. I grinned. She seemed to have fallen asleep in the few moments we'd spent in silence.
"Bells." I whispered. "Bella, wake up." I slightly shook her shoulder. She moaned and rolled slightly away.
Unexpectedly, I heard the sound of gravels crunching under wheels. I shot my head up and was greeted by the bright light shining from the headlights of a silver car. I had to squint because of the unwanted change in tint. The engine cut off and the front door slammed.
"Thank goodness. You're here." I heard his voice before it reached me. Bella moved on the ground and awoke. Disoriented. She looked from me to the vampire, confused.
"What?"
"You fell asleep Bella. I tried to wake you but you wouldn't wake up. Then he came." I gestured towards the figure hovering over us. He dropped his keys to the ground and fell to his knees beside Bella. He gathered her in his arms, and she leaned into him.
"You told me you'd be back before eleven. When you didn't come home and I remembered where you were, I thought he'd hurt you." Edward said into her damp hair. I growled.
"I would never hurt her." Each word dripped with venom. He reflected my glare with his narrow-eyed glower. Bella was oblivious.
"No, Edward. Me and Jake were just hanging out and I guess I lost track of the time. I'm fine. See?" She got up out of his grasp and spun around. The vampire raised his eyebrows.
"He left you on the ground. Bella, you'll get sick. It's cold out here." He draped his jacket around her small shoulders. I scowled.
"Come on, Edward. It's not that bad. I'll come home if you'd like, just don't get worked up."
"Oh, you want to stay with him?" He flicked his hand towards me and stared at her disbelievingly. She shot me a sad look.
"That's not what I said." She spoke slowly. I could feel my face falling.
"Well, then come on. It's getting late and Charlie might get worried."
He got to his feet and held his hand out for her. She took it and he held her close. The part that killed me was how he held her. Protectively, lovingly and real. He wasn't putting on a show to infuriate me, but he was doing a mighty fine job anyhow. He started towards the car, but Bella stopped.
"Wait." She whispered, and the vampire reluctantly obeyed.
"Jacob?" She peered at me. "Would you like us to give you a ride home?"
The vampire scoffed. Bella turned to him and held her hands up.
"No. No, I can walk. It's just a few miles."
"Are you sure?" She studied me.
"I'm sure." I observed the vampire's hold tighten.
"Alright, well, call me when you get home."
The vampire cut in, "Bella is that really necessary?"
"Edward, I want to be sure Jake's safe!" She scolded.
"Alright." I sighed.
"Promise?"
"Yes, I promise."
She turned in the vampire's secure hold and took a step towards me. He reached for her.
"Bella." He called. She turned, if I wasn't mistaken, she looked distressed.
"Edward, wait." He seemed surprised by her tone, and got in his share of glaring at me.
She came towards me. Her eyes looked sad. She gave me a small smile, but it didn't reach her eyes like it had earlier. She took a step closer and enclosed me in her arms. I could hear the vampire's growl already.
I wrapped my arms around her waist and leaned my chin against the top of her head.
"I'm sorry." She whispered.
"Don't be." I replied. She pulled away and smiled slightly. It reminded me of earlier, what had happened. I remembered it. However, it had slipped my mind that the vampire could hear everything that went on inside my mind, but it was too late. He was in between me and Bella.
"What?" He roared. "What did you do you fowl animal?!"
"Fowl?! Who are you to talk, Cullen?!" I spat.
He looked at me with absolute disgust. In that one look I could feel how much he hated me, because the feeling was identically mutual.
"If you ever so much as touch her again, Black, I see that you don't ever get to feel again." His voice was low, dangerous. His eyes were now just slits in his stone face.
"Edward!" Bella gasped, grabbing his arm. She looked like she was about to cry. "Stop it! Both of you! Gosh! You know you are the two most important people in the world to me, and I hate it when you do this! I know it's in your 'nature' to not get along but now it seems as if I can't spend time with either of you without raising heck out of the other! Just stop. Stop, stop, stop!" She was hysterical now.
"Bella." I whispered. She turned around, her back facing both of us. Edward stepped around to face her and placed his hands on either side of her face. He looked sad. I could see his lips moving and heard hushed voices, but I was too wired up to make out what they were saying. After a few moments, he turned to go to the car. Bella came towards me. She stopped a foot away and reached down to grab my hands.
"I'm sorry, Jacob. I apologize for him, that's just Edward. But you should have acted better too." She looked at our feet. I was silent. She lifted her face towards me.
"What I said earlier was true. It's just hard. It's so hard, Jacob. I can't take it. It's ripping me apart." I was still, but sympathized with her. I let out a long breath and took her into my arms.
"I'll be your rock." She relaxed in my arms, and that made me happy. She twisted out of my grasp and look me in the eyes.
"You must call me. The second you get in. No less."
"I will, I swear." I made a motion of crossing my heart. She laughed. Then, she got on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek. My eyes widened. She squeezed my hands once more, and turned to go to the car.
I stared after her, she always took a part of me with her. Wherever she went. I knew how things were, and I wanted them to change. I wanted to be able to be with her without having to deal with all the emotions after. I believed things would be different if horror movies really were a fantasy.
I walked home that night, in the rain on the side of the highway, with my fists in my pocket and half of my heart headed back to Forks.
I did not call her when I got in.
She didn't call me either.
A/N: Thanks for reading. I apologize if Edward or Jacob were a litte OOC. Reviews are greatly appreciated.