Unexpected
Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.
A/N-this story is written in collaboration with NikkiB1973.
Set in New Moon AU.
Chapter One-Confrontation
Jacob had changed rapidly in the last few weeks since she had seen him. The first thing Bella noticed was his hair-his beautiful, black silky hair was all gone, cropped quite close to his scalp. She mourned the loss of it. She loved his long hair, always so glossy and thick. Bella stared at his face, searching frantically for the boy she once knew, but like his hair his face had changed, too. His expression had hardened-his open friendly smile was gone like the hair, the warmth in his dark eyes had altered to a brooding resentment.
"Jacob?" She whispered. "What happened to you?"
His face was tense and angry. His neck and shoulders were rigid with tension. There was a darkness in him now and it frightened her. "What do you want?" He demanded, his voice rough with anger.
"I want to talk to you." Bella hated the weakness in her voice. She cleared her throat noisily. "I mean I came here because you owe me an explanation."
"Owe you?" He snarled in disbelief.
Suddenly out of nowhere four shapes loomed behind Jacob. They were all nearly as tall as him, sharing the same russet toned skin, cropped black hair and muscular physique. They looked like brothers-it took her a few seconds to pick Embry out of the group. The same hostility as Jacob was mirrored in their eyes.
The only one who didn't show any emotion was Sam Uley. He stood in the middle of the group, the oldest by several years. Bella felt a rising anger budding inside her as she looked at his smug face. She wanted to hit him, to wipe the expression off his face.
"You!" She challenged. "You did this to him!"
The violence swirling inside caught her off guard. She felt her throat tighten with the force of her anger. One of her hands curled into a tight fist, and before she had a chance to think through what she was doing, she launched herself at Sam Uley.
Sam caught her wrist before she had a chance to strike him. He stared at her, a flicker of something indefinable flashing in his dark eyes briefly, before he released his hold on her. Bella stepped back, breathing shallowly as she returned his stare. Everything around them had gone deathly silent.
Then-
"Talk to her, Jacob."
Bella spun around to face Jacob again. He was focused on Sam as if waiting out his reaction. It was like he was seeking permission. She hated seeing him cowing to the older guy. The unaccustomed fury built up again and she thumped Jacob on his chest angrily.
"He is not the boss of you. Look at me when I'm talking to you." She screamed at him.
There was a ripple of laughter from the other boys. Bella glared at them in annoyance. The hostility on their faces was gone now. They relaxed their stance and exchanged amused glances.
Sam remained unperturbed. He nodded at Jacob. "Talk to her." He then made a comment to the others in an unfamiliar language-she could only be positive it wasn't French or Spanish, and could only presume it was Quileute. He motioned for the others to follow him, leaving her alone with Jacob.
"You were amazing." Jacob was smiling now. Smiling so wide that his cheeks must be hurting.
His whole mood had done a complete one eighty and it left Bella reeling. "Jacob, what the hell is going on?" She demanded hoarsely.
"What's going on is that you are incredible. Even Sam was impressed by the way you stood up to him. C'mere, you little firecracker." To Bella's astonishment Jacob stepped forward and engulfed her in a tight bear hug. "I knew you'd come to find me. I just knew it. I told them but they wouldn't believe me." He whispered close to her ear.
Bella was struggling to breathe. She wriggled in his embrace and he released the pressure slightly. "Don't kill me for it, Jacob."
"Sorry." Jacob apologised, not really sounding sorry at all. He eventually put her back down but didn't let go completely. Her feet squished in the damp grass and mud beside the road. His cheek was pressed into her hair and his eyes were closed.
Bella heard him inhale deeply, and she glanced up at him sharply. "Are you smelling me?"
"Yeah." Jacob admitted. He stroked the back of her head with his warm hand. "Everything smells so much richer, so much stronger to me now. You always smelled good before, but now-" He inhaled again, sighing deeply as if intoxicated.
"Ugh, Jake, please don't turn into that guy." Bella pushed on his chest until he was forced to release her.
"What guy?"
"The crazy hair smelling guy." Bella shuddered.
"I love the strawberry fragrance in your hair." Jacob reached out and tugged on a lock of her hair. "I love your hair."
"You are crazy." Bella said in bemusement.
"Maybe." Jacob grinned at her. "Or maybe I'm just happy right now."
"Happy? Happy?" Bella exclaimed. She thumped him on the chest again in frustration. "You've been ignoring me for weeks. I've been calling and calling, but Billy kept making up lame excuses. I knew he was lying. Then I remembered what you said about Sam and how frightened you were of him and his cult...and I drive all the way out here to find you hanging out with him after everything."
Jacob's grin faded. He reached out for her but Bella turned and walked away from him. She headed in a northerly direction with her head bowed. She didn't hear Jacob following but when she glanced around, she found he was right behind her.
"Piss off."
"Nope." Jacob popped the P.
Bella frowned as they reached the fringe of trees. She glanced at Jacob, wondering why her footfalls sounded so loud, but his were silent. He had that brooding expression on his face again and she scowled, darting forward to try and outrun him. But outrunning him was impossible. It only took him two long strides before he caught up with her.
"Bella, it's not what you think. It wasn't my decision to stay away. I had a good reason. It was too dangerous for you to be around me." He pleaded.
"Go to hell." She carried on walking, ignoring his pleas.
"It's not what you think." His voice was suddenly weary. He grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. "It's not what I thought-I was way off. Staying away from you was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my whole life. I missed you like crazy. I even fought Sam because I was so desperate-"
"You fought Sam?" Bella cut him off in disbelief.
"Yes." Jacob transferred his hands to her shoulders and ducked his head so he could look into her eyes. "But he was right to order me to stay away. I needed to learn to control myself better before it was safe for me to be around you again."
"Sam ordered you? None of this makes sense, Jacob." Bella cried as her frustration built up into full blown resentment.
Jacob studied her face for a long moment, speculating, assessing her reaction before he spoke again. "I wasn't allowed to tell you, but Sam just lifted the gagging order." A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "The Mama bear act you just pulled off in defence of me took him by surprise." He laughed, his face brightening again. "You were amazing."
Liquid tears filled Bella's brown eyes. Her jaw tightened as she looked at him angrily. "I thought we were friends."
"We are." Jacob stated emphatically.
"Friends don't treat each other like the way you treated me. You cut me off without a word after telling me I could count on you always." Her voice turned brittle.
"I meant every word." He begged. "You have to believe me. What happened to me was out of my control. I didn't understand Sam before when I said those things about him. It's not his fault and it's not my fault, either."
"Then whose fault is it." Bella raged as her fine hold on her self control snapped. "Because it's definitely not mine."
Jacob cringed away from her torrent of words. He reached up to toy with his long hair only to remember it was no longer there. His arms fell uselessly to his sides. "Are you sure about that?" He accused as his own anger ignited.
"What are you talking about?" Bella yelled at him. "I'm not the one who got brainwashed."
"Stop blaming Sam!"
"I will until you give me a good reason to believe otherwise."
"You asked for it." Jacob growled, eyes glinting hard. "If you want someone to blame for this mess, why don't you point the finger at those filthy bloodsuckers that you love so much?"
Bella felt like he had stabbed her right through the heart. She reeled away from him, the air whooshing out of her lungs. She was finding it difficult to breathe. Suddenly Jacob's huge arms were around her. His lips were in her hair, his incredible warmth surrounding her like a comfort blanket.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. That wasn't how this was meant to go." He tone was full of regret. "I know about the Cullens, Bella. I know what they are."
"Oh my god." Bella's airways were cut off again. She struggled in vain to get away from him, but Jacob wasn't going to give her the chance to run. "Let. Me. Go." She rasped.
"No." Jacob's breath was hot on her cheek. He lifted her up and crushed her against his chest. "I see the pain in your eyes whenever I say their name. This is what he did to you. I hate them, Bella. I hate all of them. I hate them even for existing."
"Let me go." Bella insisted again, weaker this time. Even as she was fighting him off she was clutching onto him for support.
"No." Jacob shook his head. "I'm going to fight for you just like you did for me. Give me a chance to explain my part of the story, Bella. Please."
A/N-thanks for reading. Will Bella listen?
