My first Twilight fic!

DISCLAIMER!!! I do not own Twilight characters… Please review. I like to know where I stand (I'm a VERY competitive person). Also this is post-Eclipse, pre-Breaking Dawn.

In the beginning there was nothing, but then there was light. After light there was earth, and after earth there were animals, and when it was over; God created man. Then the story goes on and on until today, but so much is unexplained, and man has taken upon himself to fill in the gaps. A whale swallowed Jonah, God came to Noah in a dream, a burning bush guided Moses and the arch-angel, Gabriel himself, delivered unto Mary the key to salvation. That's where I stopped listening on Christmas Eve. Gabriel…the arch-angel. What was he? Was he light? Was he man? Was he both? I considered the possibilities as my parents listened to the priest finish the mass. How can one be carnal but not molecular, or even molecular, but not an earthly being? God or ghost, man or beast, magnificent or monster… Earlier that day I had the shock of my young life that caused all of these ethereal questions.

"Table 12 needs there order, kid," barked Ethel over the sounds of sizzling burgers, from behind the greased up grill. I had been working at the diner for 3 weeks and Ethel didn't know my name, which frankly didn't bother me it was just inconvenient cause 2 other 'kids' already worked there. I took a look over to table 12 to see two teens sitting in one of the red vinyl booths, playing with the foam cushion exposed by the ripped fabric. The entire diner was treated with about the same respect as the booths were. Everything was in disrepair, red was slowly darkening to brown, the tiles on the floor were scraped and whole pieces were coming up. The only things that kept the diner going were Alison's waiting, Ethel's cooking, Jacob's bussing and my dish washing. Despite our best efforts we couldn't make more than a little above breaking even.

"Sorry," I murmured, ducking behind the counter to get the plates piled with burgers and fries. Leaving a trail of fries behind me as I wobbled to the table. I had hurt my knee when I was kid, and my parents couldn't afford surgery so I got stuck with a shitty knee. When I complained my mom always said, 'God may have taken you on your knee, but he gave you auburn hair and gorgeous hazel eyes, didn't He?'

"I have a burger, no onions," I said to the teens sitting at the table, and one of them indicated it was his burger, so I set the plates down accordingly and started walking back to the kitchen.
On my way by the door it flew open and nearly hit me. I had to depend on my bum knee to get out of the way, but putting all my weight on it caused me to fall and hit my head on a table on the way down. The teens at the table I just left started laughing hysterically, and the man who had opened the door was apologizing profusely and was trying to help me up.

He pulled my arm, but wasn't realizing I couldn't use both my legs. Then I felt to huge hands pulling me off the floor from under my arms. Before I could turn and look I knew it was Jacob Black. Jacob Black with his shaggy raven hair, intense chocolate eyes with caramel flecks, and his sinew, coppery skin. His hands were always incredibly warm, almost hot to the touch, and as if I wasn't feeling enough heat at the moment, Jacob Black had to go and touch me. My face was hot from the embarrassment, my eyes were full of involuntary tears, and Jacob had me by the ribs.

"You should be more careful," Jacob said to the man that had caused me to fall.

"Maybe you should be more aware," he shot at me, not wanting to take on the nearly 7-foot-tall Native.

"Hey, she was just doing her job," Jacob murmured, holding me upright as I held my head.

"Jake! Girl!" Yelled Ethel from the counter. Jake turned his head in surprise; coming out of the kitchen was rare for Ethel, but I couldn't blame her. If I had a mole like that right above my lazy eye... "Stop scaring the customers!" The man shook his bald head, and moved past me and Jake, the keys attached to his stretching belt jingled as he stalked away.

"Thanks, Jake," I said, pulling my body away from his hands, which seemed more solid than my entire frame. I shot an angry look at the teens and started for the kitchen with the freezer in mind. Jacob stopped me.

"Hey, let me help you," he said putting his arm around my shoulder. It was odd how I both loved and hated his touch. I loved the attention, loved the human contact (though it was a bit hot for my taste), but I hated how nervous it made me. I had involuntary thoughts of us in the dark, kissing, discovering the other's taste, looking bewildered at the contrasts of our skin, him touching me and me touching him. There were times I caught myself looking at his mouth and wondering… Then I told myself my feelings weren't shared and went back to dish washing.

"What happened? Did he hit you hard?" He asked nearly carrying all of my weight effortlessly.

"No, I tried to get out of the way, but I had to use my bad knee and I fell," I explained.

"You sure you're not just weak in the knees for me?" He asked teasing. I giggled but didn't answer. Good guess, Jacob Black.

We made our way to the kitchen, with me resting my aching skull on his chest, my height thrown into sharp comparison by the fact that my head didn't breach his shoulder by 4 inches. "Typical entitled Anglo throwing around the help." He mumbled. "Sorry, about the Anglo comment. That's not directed at you."

"I don't care, Jake. You'll figure that out as you get to know me. You're allowed to say whatever you want, however you like, whenever you are in my company," I smiled up at him, but it was spoiled by the ached caused in my head. I winced and looked down again.

"Let's get you some ice," he said, noticing my pain.

"Why are you being so helpful?" I asked finally showing my suspicion. He gave an ironic chuckle, but didn't answer. "C'mon, tell me." There was a distinct reason he wasn't. I could tell. In the few weeks I had known Jake I found out that he didn't with hold information. He was an open book. Hell, I caught him looking down my shirt once and he apologized before I could say anything.

"You just remind me of some one," he said grimly.

"Someone you want to forget," I stated, watching him take some ice from the freezer and wrapping it in a clean dish cloth. He nodded coldly, and handed me the ice. After being in his hand as long as it had been I expected the ice to be melted, but it wasn't. There was something about Jacob that I couldn't place. He was away from home, or 'off-reservation' as he called it, he was unusually large, unusually hot, unusually handsome. It was like he always had a fever; could be normal but it isn't quite. Could make you want to stay awake at night… "What's her name?" I asked steering myself back on course. He sighed a heavy sigh, and opened his mouth to talk.

"Jake! You're not hurt. Bus tables!" Blasted Ethel poking her trusty burger flipping spatula at him. Ethel wasn't afraid of Jacob, and I liked that.

"Yeah, yeah!" He shot back at Ethel. "You want to talk after work? Like, really talk." He said looking back to me, eyes pleading with me. I bit my lip. Was this a good idea? This boy was either the key to my salvation or my damnation to hell, according to my parents, boys never really wanted to talk, but something in those smoldering Native eyes told me that he needed me whether we just talked or not. I agreed, and he was off to clear tables. I stood up carefully and looked out into the diner, watching Jake move around the room lightly and eloquently. He looked like a shadow, or a ghost. Something about him in the darkening light made my head spin with ideas, both impure and suspicious. Maybe, I thought, Jacob isn't an open book; maybe he was as closed as they came.