Hey guys, this is my new story 'elephant in the room'. One quick note: Any sexual content will be put up on my tumlr: tumblr elephantintheroom44 due to fan fics being deleted or a live journal that I will create shortly. I'd like to thank everyone who helped me to make my decision on the plot and the title; it means so much and made it so much easier to choose! This chapter is basically a run up to the actual story- just a bit about their past until the present.

Summary: Bella and Jacob have been best friends all their lives but Bella has always felt something else towards Jacob. When Jacob befriends a group of 'bad boys' he slowly drifts away and forgets Bella. During this time Jacob gains himself a girlfriend, he smokes, drinks, rebels and takes drugs and has even resorted to bullying others- Bella being one of them. Bella, left abandoned, hurt and thoroughly pissed off is left an outcast with not even a girlfriend to keep her company. So when the boy, Edward Cullen arrives in school and is too an outcast, she jumps at the possibility when he takes a sudden interest in her. They soon become a couple and Bella soon begins to move on from Jacob, but what Bella doesn't know is that Edward isn't the best company to have and Jacob and his friends know this. He will do anything to make Bella safe again and his feelings he once had for her begins to stir again. He regrets everything he ever did to Bella. But will Bella want him back?

And on with the story!

Chapter 1-

Bella Swan first met Jacob Black when she was only a day old baby and Jacob was 2 months old. Their parents, Billy and Sarah Black and Charlie and Renee Swan, had grown up as close friends and introduced the two babies as soon as they were able to meet little Bella. The parents hoped that they would become close friends and one day, possibly more.

Bella was a pale skinned baby with a tuft of dark curly hair and big brown eyes. She was tiny, weighing only 6 pounds and 5 ounces. Jacob was dark skinned with only a shaving of black hair. His eyes too were deep brown but he was much bigger than Bella, weighing 7 stone and 2 ounces.

The parents loved both children and often found themselves looking after the other parent's child while they went out. They would often take walks along the beach with both babies in their prams while the parents chattered about their day.

Both parents were stable in money, Charlie being the head of Police and Billy not just being the chief of his reservation but also worked as a lawyer in forks. Sarah and Renee had worked part time jobs- Sarah as a secretary in La Push high school and Renee as a waitress in the local café but both were on maternity leave. They went back to their jobs when the children were 6 months and 8 months old and they arranged for a childminder to look after them both when the parents were out working.

As the children grew, they became closer to one another and by the age of three, they were best friends. They never left each others' sides and when the time was for them to go home to their beds, they simply hung on to each other before their parents dragged them away. Jacob had grown protective of Bella and once when Rachel, Jacob's older sister, had pushed Bella, Jacob was all fists and feet. Sarah had to drag him away and Rachel was made to apologise to Bella and Jacob had to apologise to Rachel- although he didn't really mean it. Both parents were over the moon that their children were bonding so well and by the time they had reached 5 they would take them on trips to the zoo, where Bella became fascinated by sea lions and Jacob became fascinated in wolves.

When it was time for both of them to go to school the parents decided they would both go to the primary school in La Push as they would never leave the other person's side. The rest of their class never understood their bond and were fascinated by it. They were lost in their own world of another and never tried making friends with other children. In the playground they would play tag, hide and seek and sometime hop scotch. A few times children would try and tease Jacob because he was best friends with a girl but Bella soon put them in their place when she punched one child in the nose and ended up with a week's detention and a meeting with her parents. No one ever teased Jacob again.

By middle school Jacob was taller, almost gangly with jet black hair that fell down to the middle of his back, his eyes were still a deep brown and his skin was a dark russet colour. Bella was incredibly small and slim with long mahogany waves tumbling down her back. Her skin was porcelain which contrasted nicely with her chocolate coloured eyes. They were still inseparable and by then children were used to it. They would help each other with homework, go back to one another's houses, go to the cinema, played football and when it was warm they would go swimming in the sea. They were almost never without one another. Jacob protected Bella like his life depended on it, guarding her from those who teased her and Bella looked after Jacob if he got into a fight. She would attempt to wash his wounds when he got into a fight or had just accidently fallen over and she would cheer him up when he was upset. Of course, Bella was very clumsy and more often than not it was Jacob attempting to take care of her.

By this time, Bella had grown to like Jacob in a way that wouldn't be considered a liking you would have for friends. No, she had a crush on him. She was often caught blushing immensely when Jacob complemented her looks, when he swung an arm around her and especially when he called her 'his girl'. She knew his actions and his words meant nothing more than friendship, but she pretended that it was so much more than that. Jacob never showed any interest in her like that and knew that he just saw her as his sister that he loved so dearly. She would sometimes catch him talking to other girls, inviting them on dates to the cinema which they would agree to go on and then she was left to hear all about it. How they held hands, how he got to kiss her cheek, how they shared popcorn. She longed for it to be her.

Throughout high school, up to their junior year, they were still extremely close but Jacob now had a couple of other friends too- Quill and Embry. Bella grew to like both of them and now the two became four. Bella and Jacob were still joint at the waste but more often than not Quill and Embry would often be seen tagging along beside them.

Bella's crush on Jacob, by this point, had grown into a strong liking for the boy and it was obvious to anyone who took the time to even look at Bella for ten seconds while she was around Jacob. The only person who seemed completely oblivious was Jacob and he continued to flirt his way around the freshman girls. It appeared that girls were fond of him and Bella could see why. He was hansom, funny, sweet, loyal, charming… the list could go on. Both Embry and Quill felt sympathy for the poor girl who would often be caught staring longingly at Jacob as he spoke to another girl that he deemed 'hot'. Of course, he was soon classified as the player of the year but yet he had the kindest heart and everyone respected him.

While Jacob was the popular guy in his year, Bella was hardly noticed by anyone and she seemed fine by that. In fact she was happy. She was never one to like a large crowd of people flocking her. However, it did cause both her and Jacob to spend less time together in school and after school they wouldn't even see each other due to Jacob's 'dates'. Bella was becoming more and more jealous of the girls that Jacob took out and she grew more and more hurt that it was never her that he took out on a date. He would always call it 'friend time'.

Still, no matter how many times Jacob spent with girls and no matter how many people crowded him in the halls, Jacob always made sure he had time for his Bella. She was the girl that came number one in his life and no girl that he had ever dated would compare to his best friend, the person who he had secretly liked for years. He wouldn't admit it to anyone because that would ruin his reputation with the girls and he knew that Bella only saw him as a brother. She was too good for him. She was pretty, loyal, caring, trustworthy and every other good quality in the book. Someone like her would never like Jacob.

Bella's time with Jacob was precious and although they were not seen with each other as much as they were when they were younger, they were still as close as they could ever be. They were family almost.

But all of that changed the week before junior year started. The day that Sarah Black, Jacob's mom, died.

Okay how was it? Bad? Good? Love it? Hate it? Please review and tell me what you think of it!