Hey guys, this isn't my first story, but it's definitely the first story I actually like! I hope you like it too!
Summary: Set in New Moon, in February. Bella is moving on with her life after Edward left and has taken to Jacob and his pack of friends. They can get her to do many things she wouldn't normally do, and they definitely take advantage of that. Embry/Bella pairing, Jacob only loves Bella as a best friend.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the names, characters, or settings and I do not wish to claim them as my ideas.
It's been five months since Edward left me. Somewhere around the third month I decided that enough what enough, and I wasn't going to waste another minute on the pathetic existence I called a life, so I changed. For the better if you ask me, or really anyone. I started hanging out with my friend Jacob from La Push and his two best friends Embry and Quil. Turns out all three of them plus a few others from the reservation are werewolves. I actually am a magnet for mythical creatures. I am still the old Bella, of course. Just with a newfound outlook on life. I looked at everything a lot differently now.
But I still wasn't that different.
"No, Jake! Absolutely not!" I argue, standing in front of him at my door.
"Come on Bella, please, you know that it'll be fun, we won't let you get hurt," Jacob replied with a sad look on his face. He, Embry, and Quil were trying to get me to go ice skating. Really?
"In what world would ice skating be fun for me? I can't even look at a pair of skates without skinning my knee!" I told him. I enjoyed hanging out with them, I really did, but I didn't enjoy embarrassing myself, which was inevitable.
Just then Embry and Quil walked up, both wearing simple, long-sleeved T-shirts and jeans, like Jacob. Count on their hot bodies to make the 28 degree snowy weather look like a comfortable 55. And "hot bodies" was definitely not an understatement…especially Embry. I had to close my mouth quickly, realizing it had been open since they got out of Jacob's Rabbit. This didn't go unnoticed by Embry as he gave me a sweet, shy smile. He had always been the least talkative of the three.
"Bella, I promise if you go, I'll buy you a book. And six puppies," Quil bribed.
"Well, I have been having a shortage in puppies lately…" I decided to humor them. I'm already starting to give in. Damn Embry's hotness! They all three laughed and then got silent, hoping that I would add on to the last sentence with an acceptance to their invitation.
I answered with a quick sigh and then, "Alright fine, let me go change first."
Whooping and hollering erupted from the three as they filed in my door to wait in the living room while I got ready. Charlie was watching the game and would be happy to have the company for a little while, even if it was only for ten minutes. He had always been fond of Jacob and Embry and Quil. Something about how they would never leave me like Edward and about how they didn't look at me like I was something to eat. If only he knew. I actually wanted one of them to look at me like I was something to eat, but not in the way Charlie thought…HOLY CROW Bella, why are you thinking like that?!
I hurried up the stairs to change into warmer clothes. I picked out a pair of skinny jeans, so I would be able to wear the skates on the outside of them, and put on a thicker pair of underwear so if I fell I would have slightly more padding. I grabbed a dark grey light sweater and a cheap, black jacket that was supposed to mimic those popular directionally faced jackets that you see everyone wearing these days. I switched my clothes and put on some heavy socks and skipped (more like carefully walked) down the stairs to grab my grey scarf and a pair of gloves and the boys. They were all staring intensely at the football game on the new 50 inch Hi-definition television that Charlie bought himself for Christmas.
"Hey guys, I'm ready whenever," I said from the doorway. They got up and walked over toward me.
"Geez, Bella, is that what you're wearing? Aren't you sweating?" Quil blurted out, chuckling.
"Sorry we all aren't blessed with resistance to the cold, Quil," I retorted with a smile. "Bye Dad, we will be back soon, I can make dinner when I get home too," I walked over and gave him a small hug from behind the couch.
"Don't worry about it Bells, you eat with your friends, I'm gonna invite Billy over for the next game and we can order a pizza. Have fun ice skating, Jacob said he'd try to keep you from falling. And be careful, there are all kinds of weirdos in Port Angeles," Charlie said.
And with that, we were heading out the door. Quil yells, "Shotgun!" and jumps into the passenger side, forcing Embry and I to both have to get into the back seat from Jacob's side, so I got in first and scooted over. I'm actually kind of grateful Quil called shotgun, because even though it was cramped, it just meant that I got to be closer to Embry. I don't even know where these unexplained feelings toward Embry came from. I never thought that I would actually find anyone else attractive after the "perfect" Edward Cullen. Now he didn't seem perfect at all compared to Embry.
Since the ice skating arena was in Port Angeles and we were in Jacob's Rabbit, we were looking at an hour drive from Forks. The first half hour was mainly silence, not that I minded. But I think Quil did, because he started a game of I Spy.
"I spy with my little eye something that is yellow!" Quil yelled like an excited five year old.
"The road lines," Jacob replied with a smug smile on his face.
"Nope. You lose," Quil shot back, turning to face Embry and me with an expectant look.
"Hey dude, don't look at me that was my first guess!" Embry defended himself holding his hands up. Quil snorted and focused his gaze on me.
I quickly looked around the car to see if there was anything yellow that Jacob or Embry hadn't paid attention to. I set my eyes on a small hula girl bobble figure shaking on the dashboard. "That hula girl's lei," I guessed and pointed towards the front of the car.
Quil's eyes looked as surprised as if someone had just read his mind.
"Good guess," Quil mumbled, and I laughed.
"It's not as if you gave us much to choose from with your oh-so-subtle color picking," I said between giggles.
The game went on, surprisingly, for the next half hour, which didn't even seem like a half hour at all since we were talking so much. Soon enough we were pulling into the ice skating arena's parking lot, which might as well have been an ice skating arena in itself it was so icy. Awesome, I was going to have to sit on the ground and scoot to the door. Jacob parked about two hundred meters away from the door, and he and Quil popped out of the car, pulling up their seats for Embry and me. We walked into the building and Jacob paid for my ticket (after some protesting by me), and we rented our skates.
"I don't know how to tie these!" Embry said, fussing with his skate laces. Jacob, Quil, and I already had ours on and tied up and Quil and Jake were already wobbling their way to the ice, snickering, to avoid helping Embry. I smiled and knelt down to help him.
"Thanks, Bella," he smiled at me shyly.
"There you go," I said standing up. I lost my balance somewhere along the way and landed flat on my ass. "Whoops," I mumbled, the blush covering clear down my neck. Embry held out his hand to help me up, and he stood up at the same time so we could balance ourselves on each other. I silently thanked Jacob and Quil for going to the ice earlier than us, because touching Embry gave me a faint buzz. I wondered if he felt the same way. His dark brown eyes were staring into mine as we stood there catching our balance.
"Excuse me," a young girl pushed through us trying to sit down and put on her skates. Embry quickly looked away and I wished I was an impolite person so I could glare the girl down for ruining an almost moment.
"So, do you want to try out your skates on the ice?" Embry asks, as if those last few moments didn't happen.
"Yeah, might as well get it over with," I replied trying to hide my disappointment. "Are you good at ice skating?"
""I'm decent. I mean I'm no Jacob Black, but I can hold my own," Embry grinned.
We got to the entrance, and to my relief it wasn't crowded on the ice. Just as we stepped on the ice Jacob and Quil were on their third lap gliding towards us.
"Hey Bells, need some help?" Jacob held out his hand, and I gratefully took it, wishing that it was Embry's instead. Quil and Embry headed off with a smile and a wave, but Embry's look lasted a couple of seconds longer.
I hadn't been on ice since I was seven, and it didn't end well, so I really didn't have high expectations this time. We started moving on the ice, Jacob was gliding and I was shuffling with a death grip on Jacob and the wall. We saw Embry and Quil pass us once, racing each other. About five minutes of the shuffling and gripping passed and now I was only gripping Jacob. I had to say I was getting a little better at keeping my balance. Maybe I was getting used to actually having a body.
"Bella, you're doing great! I can't believe how much better you've gotten in just a few minutes of practice! I think you've found your calling," Jacob teased. "Do you want to try without holding onto me for a little bit? I'll stay right beside you so you can grab onto me if you fall."
"If, Jacob? If I fall? You have so much faith in me," I laughed and so did Jacob, but he let go anyways.
I was slowly sliding and becoming really happy with myself that I could actually do something without busting my face on the ground. Quil and Embry flew past Jacob and me and Quil looked back at me and yelled out encouragement. Embry realized soon that Quil was not watching where he was going and was heading right for a teenage couple holding hands and skating slowly.
"Quil watch out!" Embry yelled as he tried to stop in time.
In a matter of seconds Quil had turned around, realized what was going to happen, and collided into the joined hands of two unsuspecting lovers. Embry couldn't get stopped in time and tumbled over the pile that had arisen. I gasped, not realizing Jacob had stopped to avoid the collision, and I quickly found out that I didn't know how to stop myself with my skates. The pile of teenagers was approaching fast and I was flailing like a wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tubeman.
"Bella use your skate brakes! They're on the front of the blades!" I heard Jake shouting. I tried to tip my skates forward, but it only propelled me outward and I fell down over Quil and the teenagers and right onto Embry. I had time to see his face right before I landed on his chest. It was a scared, helpless expression, which I'm sure mirrored my exact emotions right now. I landed with a thud, and did not move, in hopes of melting into the ice and disappearing from the planet. It felt like we were lying on the ice for an hour, and I honestly have no clue how long it actually was. But I decided to chance looking up after I felt arms wrapping around my back. I saw Embry looking down at me chuckling. I had unshed tears waiting for my signal to be released, but when I saw Embry's smile and heard his laugh they vanished and I found myself smiling back at him. I heard Quil and the other teenagers struggling to get up, but all I was focused on was the man in front of me. I felt a magnetic pull dragging me up and closer to his face, and I noticed his head lifting off of the ice toward me. His eyes were locked on mine until we got too close and I closed my eyes. Our lips touched together for a millisecond and then…
"Bella and Embry sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Quil bellowed and then puckered his lips and started making kissing noises. I looked up, still very aware of Embry's warm arms around my waist and his eyes on my bright red face. I saw Quil and Jacob with huge grins on their faces staring at us, the teenagers had skated on and everyone else had resumed their fun. I started to move a bit to get off of Embry.
"I'm sorry Embry, I didn't mean to land on you I just didn't know how to stop," I explained, once again feeling tears of embarrassment. I grabbed onto the wall and stood up, holding out my hand for Embry.
"It's okay, I really didn't mind," Embry said and then he winked. Embry Call just winked at me! And here I thought he was shy. I gave him a smile and continued to help him up. I hope things wouldn't become awkward now. Would we acknowledge that kiss? Or should I just forget it happened?
"We are going to race, Embry you can help Bella skate, right?" Jacob asked, already skating off with Quil and a smirk on his face. Embry took my hand and started moving slowly.
"So I think we should talk about something," Embry said and my heart sped up, I was getting nervous. What if he told me that it was a mistake? I didn't want it to be a mistake; I didn't think I could handle that. "I don't regret kissing you, and I'm just going to come out and say this: I've had feelings for you ever since I met you with Jake in his garage," he sighed and looked at me. My heart skipped a couple of beats and I wondered if I heard him right. I decided just to take a chance and assume I heard him right.
"I have feelings for you too," I said shyly. He let out a breath I didn't know he was holding and smiled really big. I reciprocated. We spent the rest of the trip skating hand-in-hand, talking about mindless subjects. I only fell twice more, bringing down Embry both times accidentally. We changed our shoes and headed out to the car. Quil claimed the front seat again, but this time I definitely didn't care. When we started driving Embry scooted closer and put his arm around me.
"So you guys look pretty comfortable back there," Jake said. Embry and I just smiled at him through the rear-view mirror. "Do you guys want to stop at this pizza parlor down the road?"
We all agreed to go eat, since we had been gone almost all day and I hadn't had anything since breakfast. The waiter sat us in a booth and took our orders. We ate slowly, listening to Quil's story about how he flirted with the girl in the concession stand at the arena.
"Are your checks separate or all together?" the waiter asked. Jacob and Quil asked for separate, and Embry told the waiter that we were on the same check. I thanked him, finally giving up and letting people do things for me, and he leaned over and kissed my forehead. The waiter left and Jake spoke up.
"You guys already look like you've been dating for a long time, you're just so comfortable around each other."
"I really do feel comfortable, like this was supposed to happen," Embry said. Jacob looked at him with a thoughtful look for a few seconds.
"You met Bella before you phased, right?" Jake whispered. Embry nodded his head. "And you already had feelings for her then?" He nodded again. "I think you've imprinted, Embry. Since you already knew Bella and developed feelings for her before your first phase, then when you actually imprinted it wasn't as strong. It doesn't happen often, since there are so many possible mates in the world and it's rare that you already know them. But I can tell by the way you look at Bella that it's more than just a simple attraction."
This was a lot to take in. I had heard about imprints, but I never really gave them a second thought because I didn't think it'd apply to me, only to find out that I was an imprintee. I was elated, to say the least. The thought that Embry wouldn't leave me because I knew that he was my soulmate really made me happy. But would Embry feel the same way? Or would he feel like he was stuck with me? The ex-leech-lover?
"Wow, this is…well this is…scary," Embry said. He took one look at my face after he said that and quickly added, "A good scary! As in I'm happy that it's you, but nervous." He squeezed my hand in his and I felt at ease. It was great how his simple touch could make me feel so good. I wonder what it'd feel like to…
"Here are your checks, thank you for coming in!" the waiter popped me out of my thoughts. Jacob, Quil, and Embry paid and soon enough we were in the car heading back to Forks. I could honestly say that this day of ice skating has ironically turned out to be one of the best days of my life.
We pulled up into my driveway and I could see that Embry didn't want to let me go. We both got out and Jake and Quil said their goodbyes at the car while Embry walked me up to my front door.
"I'm really glad that you are my imprint. It makes me feel a lot better knowing that I had my own feelings for you before fate stepped in," Embry said as we reached my porch.
"I'm glad too, because I would have been devastated if you had fallen head over heels for another girl," I admitted.
"Isabella Swan, I am not afraid to admit that I love you and have loved you for months now, ever since I laid eyes on you. I promise to never hurt you in any way," Embry leaned down to kiss me on the lips, short and chaste but filled with love.
"I love you, and I promise to never hurt you as well," I vowed. Then as if on cue we leaned into each other, melting as one, and shared a passionate kiss. Embry's hands moved from my waist to the back of my neck, intertwining in my long, wavy hair. I cupped his face with my hands and pulled his head closer to mine. I felt like we had to be closer, but that was physically impossible. He gently sucked on my lower lip and ran his tongue across it. I opened my mouth a little more and let his tongue enter and dance with mine. Too soon it was over, and Embry and I stood there with our foreheads together gasping for air.
"Can I see you tomorrow?" Embry asked.
"Of course. You can see me any day you want to."
"I love you, Bella. I had a wonderful time tonight."
"I love you, too," and with that he was in Jacob's Rabbit and I walked inside with a silly smile on my face. Charlie and Billy were sitting in the living room eating a pizza when I strolled in there.
"Hey Bells, how was ice skating? Did you have fun?" He looked behind him at me from the couch.
I just beamed at Charlie and replied, "Dad, I had the best day of my life."
THE END
Did you like it? I don't actually know about the whole imprinting thing with if you already know someone it's not as strong, I don't think that it's true, but I haven't read Eclipse and Breaking Dawn in a while and I don't know if it explains anything like that in there so I'm sorry if it was misleading or anything!
Also, I do not intend copyright infringement on the Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tubeman!
PLEASE review if you feel like it good or bad.
And Merry Christmas time to everyone! Have a Happy New Year!
Love,
Katie