Reaching an Agreement
Just a one shot in Edward's POV of a conversation between Edward and Jacob.
It was two-thirty in the morning and Bella was asleep. I could hear the blood pulsing round her body, warm, delicious. I ran my nose along the jugular vein on her creamy, white neck. Venom pooled on my tongue, tried to escape my lips. I was used to Bella's scent but not immune, it still smelt the same to me as it had on that first day in biology, still caused me the same pain, discomfort. Though I loved her too much to ever act on my instinct. As fantastically luscious as she would taste, it wasn't worth it. She was my life. I traced my cool fingers over her injured hand. It was a few degrees warmer than the rest of her body and the blood thumped erratically around her healing knuckle. Fury washed over me at the mongrel, it wasn't just that he'd kissed Bella, he loved her. I'd known that from the beginning, his thoughts were very obsessive and protective towards her. But she was mine. I wished I could find it in my heart to despise him but I couldn't. Apart from that Bella loved him, as a friend anyway, he was the only thing that had kept her together when I was gone (not that he let me forget it). But, I had to face the fact that he had saved her. I would have returned eventually, either way but he had protected her, maintained her sanity and I owed her life to him. I stroked the back of my hand over Bella's hot cheek. I loved her more than anything, if she loved the dog then I couldn't hate him.
Wild thoughts penetrated my brain loudly. The dog was near, he was on foot in his wolf form, alone. Only his thoughts were interlaced with the rest of the pack.
'Be careful' Sam Uley thought.
'I just want to check on her...make sure she's safe.' I heard the heavy bound of his feet slow to a soft, even pad. I stepped off of Bella's bed, resettling the covers over her. I stepped shot across the room and out the window in a single movement. I landed softly on the damp grass below her window. He was standing, leaning against a tree. Expecting me.
"Jacob." I greeted him.
"Cut the crap leech. What is it?" his voice was louder than normal conversation permitted. I sped into the forest, waving my hand at him to follow. I heard his uneven, human bounds follow me thirty metres into the darkened trees. I turned to face him abruptly, he ground to a halt.
"What do you want bloodsucker?"
"Why are you here?" I hissed, annoyed at his arrogance.
"I came to check you hadn't eaten her yet." He growled. I chuckled.
"Please. She wants me." I smirked at him "She punched you in the face for going anywhere near her." He frowned furiously, his thoughts were amusing.
'She does want me...she just...doesn't know it yet.' He was trying to convince himself more than me. I laughed out loud. He glared at me. His thoughts were filled with revenge for my mockery. He filled his own head and mine with the same image of Bella as he had that day at school. Lying lost and alone in the forest, her hair tangled, her clothes grimy. In Jacob's mental picture, she stared aimlessly into space. She looked dead. Her lips twitched with the same words over and over, he's gone. Agony ripped through me, tearing apart my insides. My heart burned like he had poured acid over me.
"Ah." I gasped. His lips twitched up in a smirk at my agony, the image never left his head he mentally tortured me for seconds more before I fell to my knees.
"Jacob..please...stop." I gasped. The image slowly faded from his head. He smiled at me smugly. As I ground my fingertips into the dirt. I stared up at him before rising to my feet. I stared at him for a long time as he glared furiously back at me.
"I will always love her more than you Jacob. She will always love me more than you."
"I can protect her." he growled
"Bella is mine, Jacob." I hissed. "She has picked me, she doesn't love you."
"You left." He yelled "I protected her and you didn't."
"Don't you think I fucking know that!?" I roared, "Don't you think it kills me every day!?" He flinched away from the volume of my voice. I leapt softly so I was standing directly in front of him.
"But I came back." I hissed in his face "I'm here now and she wants me." His repulsive smell filled my nostrils and nauseated me. My scent seemed to have a similar effect on him hid face scrunched up in a lopsided glare.
"Not. For. Long." He hissed through gritted teeth. He pounded both of his hands against my chest forcefully. I didn't budge and smirked at him smugly before stepping back a few paces. His thoughts were spinning angrily around our heads. Jealousy at Bella being mine, anger at me for getting so close to him, embarrassment at his feeble attempt at moving me.
"Jacob..." I closed my eyes and tried to block his thoughts to a dull roaring noise. "I'm sorry you're...in pain but-"
"Shut the fuck up!" He roared "Don't you fucking dare pity me!" He punched a tree beside him, it cracked directly up the middle before splitting into two halves.
"You're pathetic." He growled. I shot infront of him.
"Just accept it. She. Is. Mine. And You. Can't. Have her." I punctuated his words by prodding his chest roughly. I stepped back and he frowned furiously before rubbing at his chest instinctively before frowning and clenching his fists by his side.
"Are we gonna' fight this out or what leech?" As much as I wanted to break his jaw, I knew that would hurt Bella. I closed my eyes and sighed.
"As much as I would like to kill you Jacob, that would make Bella unhappy. I don't want to be the reason for her unhappiness, so back off from her."
"I'm not going to abandon her."
"Fine. But stay away from me." I turned to walk away.
"She'll pick me." He said. I turned back round to face him.
"Fine. If she does I'll leave you alone. If she picks me..."
"Then I'll leave you two alone. Is that an agreement?" He sighed and nodded, his face solemn. I offered my hand to him to shake. He stared at it silently before sighing and grabbing it tightly. He flinched away from the coolness of my hand. I shook his firmly before speeding away, scaling the drainpipe of Bella's house and returning to her bed. She turned and wrapped her slender arms around me. Her eyes slid open slowly as she gazed up at me. She smiled sleepily.
"What happened?" She murmured "Where'd you go?"
"Nowhere love. Just reaching an agreement." And she drifted back to sleep in my arms. She was and always would be mine. I wasn't about to give into an adolescent, over-aggressive mutt. I wanted her forever.