Jacob

My back ached; my feet pounded in my boots. The shirt I wore clung to my back in the muggy Florida morning, so I peeled it over my shoulders as I ascended the first few steps up to the sensible apartment I shared with a roommate. Living in the complex was actually a pretty okay thing nowadays, now that there was someone to help foot the rent and watch the place when I was at work.

Because I worked nights, the rumor around the complex was that my place was the easy target for burglary and so forth because no one was home in the darkest hours. However, for some bizarre reason, no one ever messed with my things. My neighbors told me it was because everyone was afraid of me, because I looked different and intimidated others. I would look in the mirror and try to see what people found so intimidating, but I never could. My roommate said my size was a big threat, but I just laughed and shook my head. I really would never hurt a fly.

Once I reached the top of the flight of stairs, I dug in my cargo pants for my house key. The station wasn't more than a couple blocks away so I didn't bother driving there for my shift. Besides, as an EMT I needed to stay in shape so the extra exercise didn't do anything bad for me. The dead bolt thunked as it was pushed to the unlock position and I could literally feel the door shake with its force. I'd asked the landlord to allow me to install the deadbolt after my roommate moved in; I could deal with my things being stolen, but I didn't want to feel responsible if the person I lived with ended up leaving because of a bad neighborhood.

The inside of the apartment was still black because it faced the west, away from the rising sun. Not that it helped cool the place down any, being in a shadier section of the complex. The AC bill was still ridiculous; and it didn't help that I ran at almost 100 degrees all the time. But, the small change in temperature as I stepped inside caused my bare arms to prickle under the thin layer of sweat I'd managed to produce as I jogged home.

Shutting the door and locking it again, I hooked my keys on the wall hook that had recently been set up and emptied my pockets on the small table next to the couch. The living room was small, of course, and opened into the eating area and a bar where you could see in to the kitchen. On one side of the living room was a door that led to my room and on the opposite end was the door that led to my roommate's.

There was a basket of clothes in front of the door on the left, my room. My roommate and I switched chores around the place every once in a while. I glanced over the bar and into the kitchen sink; there weren't a lot of dishes in there but I should do them while I'm up so I do. That was my big chore of the morning. Both of us were pretty neat when it came to our place, so only trivial things like clothes and dishes and dusting needed to be done. I dried my hands off on my pants and dropped the shirt I'd draped over my shoulders in the dirty basket next to the washer and dryer in the back of the kitchen before moving around and opening my door. I'd wait till later to fold my clothes.

I kicked off my shoes and socks, the instant relief washing over my feet, causing me to sigh. I sat down at the edge of my low bed and rested my head in my hands, curving my back and trying to stretch it out. Glancing at the clock, I saw it read 7:20. I stood up with one push on my knees and left my room, crossing the living room in three strides and slowly opening the door into my roommate's quarters.

Almost immediately the smell of her bath wash and perfume wafted up my nose. It held a calming effect over me, like some kind of hallucinogen. Her small frame was curled up under her covers facing away from me, towards the window. It took me only half a step to reach the edge of her bed and lean one knee behind the small of her back. She rolled back against the weight of it and grumbled something incoherent in her sleep.

"What was that?" I asked, pushing on too cheerful for her liking this early in the morning. She was a big sleeper, which was probably why she had her school schedule start at 10:50 in the morning and didn't usually get out of bed before 10.

She whined softly, trying to get her point across. I smiled and leant down, brushing her brown hair off her face and grazing my lips over her exposed cheek bone. There was a trace effect that swept over her features, like she wanted to smile but could only muster up enough energy to upturn the very outer corners of her mouth.

"Just wanted to let you know I'm home, okay?" I started to stand up straight again to leave, but her small hand shot out from under the covers and grabbed my wrist before I could stand properly. It lingered there for a few moments, wrapped tightly, but sleep overtook her gesture and her grip loosened. I wiped the rest of the hair that had fallen out of her pony tail off her face and exited her room, glancing at the burnt wood frame I'd made for her back in high school with our names etched in the grains. Bella and Jake. Under the glass of the frame was a picture of us at the lake my dad lived on from the fourth of July from the previous summer.

I stopped, my foot halfway out the door, and stared at the reminders of our relationship. We had always been best friends, from childhood I guess, back when she lived with her mom. That was up till she was 12. After that she moved to Washington to stay with her dad while her mom, Renee, travelled with her step-dad, Phil, on his journey through various minor-league baseball teams. When Phil tore his knee up in a game, he and Renee came back, which brought Bella back. I'd already graduated high school, making her a junior, which made it awkward to regain our past friendship. But we did it. After a few months time we were always around one another, best friends again.

Next to our photo was a frame with her and another guy, Edward; Bella's long time and currently away at college boyfriend. Now he was a dick. I knew he was; he just had that over confidence that screamed narcissistic to everyone but Bella. But I kept my mouth shut, especially after the first fight she and I had when he went away to Tallahassee. I'd told her that he wouldn't remain true to her and go off and get drunk and screw the first girl he could. That night I heard her crying. She tried to shrug it off as nothing, but I knew my words had stung. She'd never felt adequate for Edward, like he was some sort of super-being that sparkled in the sun and was a gift from God Himself.

So since then I'd kept quiet about him. Because Bella and I were living together after she graduated so she could just walk to school, I had the pleasure of hosting Edward when he decided to come in to town. Tallahassee was only three hours away, so he came around every couple of weeks. Bella knew my thoughts on the subject of him staying here for three or four days at a time: I didn't like it. She tried to talk him in to letting her drive up there, but he said his dorm mates would bother him too much and tease him, so she agreed that she wouldn't go up there.

I, of course, found it fishy that he would hide her from his new life. So I, of course, wanted to voice my opinion, but when I would, Bella would get this tired look on her face, like she was exhausted from holding up a tough front and I would drop it. Lately I was beginning to wonder if she and he would make it.

I was brought back to reality by the faint noise of a distant car alarm. Shaking my head, I turned back to glance at Bella as she slumbered on. I made sure I was quiet as I crept to the other end of the apartment and showered before collapsing on to my own bed, which was too small for my long frame, and kicking the maroon sheets off the foot of the bed. I never used them, but it looked better than a bare mattress. I stared at the blades of my ceiling fan for a long time, lost in daydreams, before my real dreams took over and I drifted off into sleep.

Bella

"I had another dream about Jacob." I sat down under the short dogwood tree at the metal picnic table Angela and I sat at every Thursday after my second class, Humanities. The short tree provided the instant shade I'd been wanting, having crossed almost the entire campus in about five minutes in the blazing Florida sun. I could feel a cool line of sweat fall between my shoulder blades under the flimsy tank top I'd thrown on at 10:45 this morning. Once again, I'd slept in too late, spent way too long in the shower, and dragged my feet all the way out the door. I'd probably wake up earlier if I'd go to bed earlier, but there was always something stopping me from drifting off the sleep when I was home alone.

I had two theories. One, I was terrified that someone would break in. Jacob was the big man in the lot and people knew he could fend for himself. I, on the other hand, was much smaller and a little less coordinated when it came to defending me. My dad, Charlie, gave me a can of pepper spray for Graduation back in June, but I doubt that would be the first thing I'd grab in the case of an intrusion.

My second theory, well, Angela's theory, was that I couldn't stand Jacob being away. That was true. I've become accustomed to having him around all the time. But he makes better pay at night and he needs to money, so I'm very understanding when it comes to him staying at the station on call every other night. But I don't think I'm losing sleep over it.

Angela immediately lifted her head from the center of her textbook and raised her eyebrows. It had become a strange habit of mine to dream about my best friend and roommate, almost every other day it seemed.

The only reason she even cared to be so into what I had to say was because my dreams always turned into something steamy and sexy and definitely a bummer to wake up from. She thought it was completely hysterical, cliché, and obvious that I would end up falling for my best friend. I begged to differ.

The only reason why I had these dreams was because I was hormonal and didn't have a constant supply of sex; Edward was up at FSU and I was in small town Ocala, Florida. I was comfortable with Jacob and he was a hunk of a man, so of course my unconscious would link the two into something like dirty dreams. I opened my mouth to explain to Angela what seemed like the hundredth time since the semester started what my theory was when she cut me off.

"I know. I know! You're hormonal. Your boyfriend is away. Your best friend and roommate is gorgeous and yaddy-yadda. I get it." I rolled my eyes at the brunette across from me, twirling the ends of my hair around my fingers. "But tell me something Bella," she leaned on her forearms and stared at me over her glasses, "Why is it that you have these dreams about Jacob and not Edward if you love him so much and are pining for his touch and not Jacob's?"

I stopped in mid-twirl and my jaw went slack for a moment. But I recovered quickly.

"The mind works in mysterious ways Ange. It's probably just because he's always around." She straightened up and shrugged her eyebrows again; she didn't believe me. And who would? I do admit I had a crush on him when I first got back from Washington, but what else would you expect as an outcome of our relationship at the time?

Jacob and I had been inseparable from as far back as I could remember, and even when I moved to Washington for those five years. We had emailed each other every couple of weeks, but nothing compared to seeing him again a few weeks into my junior year of high school. It was like the breath was kicked out of my lungs, like plunging into a freezing ocean from a cliff. I'd smiled so wide in the instant I recognized who he was that I probably looked deranged. I took off from my spot and ran, albeit clumsily towards the statue of bronze skin and black hair that stood not fifty feet from where I was.

It was at a football game and I was with Edward, before we started dating. Jacob was in his EMT student uniform and leaning against the front of the cab of the ambulance he was driving that night. With his hands tucked in his pants pockets and black hair pulled back in a ponytail, casually watching the game in front of him, he resembled the red Power Ranger he would always play when we were kids. I, of course, was the pink Ranger, but I'd grown out of that phase a long time prior.

I remember his face when he realized who I was. I was five years older by that point, making me seventeen, him nineteen. We hadn't ever shared photos with one another, partially because his dad and mine were alike in the fact that they couldn't work a camera to save their lives. So the shock of a tall, dark, handsome Jacob Black stunned me for a good amount of time as I approached him. His smile was so white and perfect; he'd definitely grown up a lot.

Edward was pissed that I had ditched him momentarily to talk with my old best friend. I was oblivious to that small fact. Jacob, however, was not. Looking back, I can sort of see the warning glances he was giving Edward as he seethed to my right. If I try really hard, I can probably still hear Edward's teeth grinding as my conversation with Jacob ended up lasting a full half of the game and concluded with lunch plans.

So, maybe I could see why everyone thought Jacob and I would eventually end up together. We looked like a couple to outsiders, minus the kissing and groping in public. He was my eternal protector, like a step-brother, so close that we were like family, but not actually related. Jacob stood in for Edward during my Junior Prom, or lack of prom, when Edward went to Prom and I didn't. I had failed to buy a ticket, partly because I didn't want to go and partly because I didn't have the money for all the expenses. He'd already bought his ticket and refused to return it, and told me he would just stay because I was a brat about it. I could see why he was angry; I'd said I would go with him, and I'd gone back on my promise. But dresses and heels and dancing weren't my forte. I could barely walk a straight line barefoot. I had been so mad at Edward that I told him to go to prom and I would be fine by myself. So he left. And I wasn't alone. Jacob and I ate popcorn and watched Die Hard movies all night.

The next year, for my Senior Prom, I did go with Edward, but hated every moment of it. I didn't dance, Edward was annoyed because I wouldn't dance, and we sat in silence at the table with Angela and Ben and watched other couples dance and whatnot. It wasn't a fun night and I finally got Edward to agree to leave around ten.

Edward and I have always had some agreement issues, from what we did on a Friday night to where I was going to college. He'd been set on FSU since he could apply, but I didn't feel the need to go away for college. Why pay so much money for the same education? I mean, the experience could be fun, for an outgoing person, but not for me. I wouldn't know what to do with myself in a place like that. I opted for community college and didn't apply to any Universities, which caused a big rut to grow between Edward and me. It didn't help that my mom wanted me to follow Edward like she did to Phil. It was hard enough to decide to stay at home for college without my mother breathing down my neck.

This led me to moving out. Jacob had an open room in his apartment and the rent wasn't bad, so I immediately told him I'd move in. So since then, about three months ago, I've been living with him in a two bed, two bath apartment on the second floor of a complex only two blocks from the college campus, a short enough distance for me to ride my bike.

To the outsider, this situation would look suspicious. My best friend being my roommate and us being comfortable enough to walk around in our underwear at home in front of each other…yeah, seems suspicious. But it never has been. I got over my crush on Jacob almost as soon as it had developed.

"You know I've got money on when you two are going to hook-up, right?" Angela brought me out of my blank stupor, shocked that she would say and better yet, even DO such a thing. My face wore all the shock I felt, but she just smiled and began reading from her textbook again, her geeky smirk literally growing with every passing second.

"I don't even want to know who you have this bet with, Ange," I finally managed. That was a lie. I wanted to know who was in on it, but I'd weasel it out of her later. "But, if you don't mind me asking, how much do you have on it?"

It was her turn to look shocked. "What does it matter if you're so dead-set on not getting with Jacob? And are you trying to tell me you'll either stall or speed up this hooking-up process if you know the amount of money I have bestowed on the situation?" I threw my head back and laughed.

"Oh yeah, Angela," I started off as sarcastically as I could muster with the given hilarity of the conversation, "I'll definitely sleep with Jake faster if you're set on a later date, just so you'll lose." My back shook as I laughed again. Angela pursed her lips as I continued, "And I'll most certainly try to hold myself back from jumping his bones if you think it'll happen tonight."

"Whose bones are you jumping tonight?" My laughter cut off immediately when I heard the sound of the voice behind me.