Jacob walked dejectedly into the dimly lit gym of Forkes High, garlands and fairy lights hung from every available wall space looking somewhat like a fairy grotto to most it would be a happy almost magical moment but for Jacob Black it was one of the most uncomfortable and painful moments of his young life, he pulled irritably at the stiff white collar of his crisp white shirt, he felt incredibly awkward and self-conscious in his midnight black tux, a tux that had caused him no end of hassle to find being over 6'6 of pure rippling muscles made finding fitting clothes rather difficult never mind something like a tuxedo.
He stood by the doors leaning against the gym wall trying to look casual but he knew it didn't really matter anyway, Bella's bloodsucker….Edward would figure him out straight away if he didn't get his thoughts in check, thankfully the sight of Bella in her long dark purple ball gown style dress was enough to distract him from all thoughts of nervousness, he found his mind wandering over how beautiful she looked, her hair half pulled up the rest falling in gentle curls around her face, he guessed the pixie like Cullen had forced Bella to be her life-size Barbie again and Jacob found himself liking Alice Cullen a little for what she had done.
She was dragging Edward along behind her his nose was wrinkled in slight disgust causing a snicker to pass Jacob's lips, Edward growled lowly at him only making Jacob more amused he wanted to annoy the vampire so he allowed his mind to wander over thoughts of him and Bella together, this caused Edward's growl to grow louder and his arm to grip possessively around Bella's waist "Edward stop it!" she scolded him before turning to smile at Jacob "Thanks for coming Jake it means a lot to me I know you didn't really want to come" Jacob laughed slightly mirthlessly "Bells I don't even come to your school but you asked me to come and even though I don't really understand why you wanted me to come so badly I'm here" she shrugged and smiled "Make sure to save a dance for me though Jake" she winked walking towards the dance floor with Edward in tow as the band began playing the beat pulsing through the crowded dancing teens.
A young girl walked up to the front of the stage grabbing the microphone, her head was down swaying slightly to the beat of the music, her face was hidden behind a veil of long choppily layered ivory hair, her body was wrapped in a mid-thigh length white dress that wasn't much paler than her porcelain skin, the skirt of the dress had two different length slightly ruffled skirts with black lace trim, a black lace corset lay over the top of the dress tied at the front with thick black ribbon the dress curved up over her breast gathered and ruffled at the top, thin white spaghetti straps help the dress up on her body.
"There's a cross on the side of the road
Where a mother lost a son
How could she know that the morning he left
Would be the last time she'd trade with him for a little more time
So she could say she loved him one last time
And hold him tight
But with life we never know
When we're coming up to the end of the road
So what do we do thenWith tragedy around the bend?"
Came her voice low and beautiful making the room seem to almost stop as people took in her words, you could feel the sorrow of the woman she was singing about but then the tempo picked up as she lifted her head revealing her beautiful face, pale alabaster skin framed by her ivory hair, a sweeping layered fringe covered part of her left eye, her eyes caught Jacob's attention immediately they glowed pale pink lighting up in happiness as her voice picked up in tempo along with the song.
"We live we love
We forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love"
She swayed her hips gently to the beat raising her arms to the ceiling along with the lyrics, Jacob couldn't take his eyes off the girl on the stage, to him there was no longer anyone else in the hall as he watched her continue to sing and sway to the music.
"We live we love
We forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love"
Jacob's mind couldn't take much more of the siren's song that seemed to call to him like nothing he'd ever felt before, her eyes fluttered to him a smile breaking out across her face, her eyes held his as she moved backwards slightly allowing the tall Native American boy beside her playing the guitar to step forward and take center stage.
"There's a man who waits for the tests
To see if the cancer has spread yet
And now he asks, "So why did I wait to live till it was time to die?"
If I could have the time back how I'd live
Life is such a gift
So how does the story end?
Well this is your story and it all depends
So don't let it become true
Get out and do what we were meant to do"
Jacob's heart fluttered and hammered in his chest as she moved back to the front of the stage and began singing again her eyes still solely on him, her swaying hips mesmerised him to no end he'd never seen a girl like her before she was so beautifully unique.
"We live we love
We forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love"
"We live we love
We forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love"
Her ivory hair swayed along with her body as the ebony haired girl on bass joined her in singing they looked like Yin and Yang up on stage but still her eyes never left him, he was starting to doubt himself though perhaps he was going insane, after all why would she be looking at him?
They broke apart and she moved to allow the Native boy to walk to the front and sing again
"Waking up to another dark morning
People are mourning
The weather in life outside is storming
But what would it take for the clouds to break
For us to realize each day is a gift somehow, someway?
So get our heads up out of the darkness
And spark this new mindset and start to live life cuz it ain't gone yet
And tragedy is a reminder to take off the blinders
And wake up and live the life we're supposed to take up
Moving forward with all our heads up cuz life is worth living"
The Native boy touched her as he moved back but still she never let her eyes leave Jacob's this caused an even bigger grin to slip on to his gorgeously tanned faced. She grabbed the bass player again and brought her to the microphone getting her to sing with her again.
"We live we love
We forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love"
"We live we love
We forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love"
"We live we love
We forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love"
"We live we love
We forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love"
Their voices began fading away on the last line as the song ended causing an eruption of applause from the crowd, they all bowed the singer whispering hurriedly to the bassist who nodded and moved to the front of the stage taking the microphone. Jacob was a little confused by what was happening but suddenly the girl jumped from the stage straight into the crowd causing alarm to raise in the pit of his stomach. "Our singer is just gonna take a little break so I'll be singing for her for the next few songs" shouted the bassist over the chattering crowd.
Jacob was still leaning against the wall staring into the crowd trying to see the girl but to no avail, there were to many smells in the air to be able to identify a new one that he'd never smelt before. The sting of disappointment was sharp in his stomach at the thought of not seeing the girl again but he kept looking around the dance floor "You'd think white hair would be easy to spot" he grumbled quietly to himself "It makes me wonder how a guy like you can be a wall flower girls here must have their heads screwed on backwards" laughed a honey like voice behind him, he whirled round to face the owner of voice his mood lifting immediately at the sight of the beautiful girl.
"I wouldn't say that but since I don't go to the school I didn't exactly have an exclusive date" he laughed in reply to her "You're one of the Quilete boys aren't you?" she asked smiling warmly at him "How do you know about that?" she laughed "I may not look it but I'm from your tribe originally well my ancestors were anyway, my tribe broke away about a hundred years ago or so I think" "Wow wasn't expecting that" he laughed "It's what I get for having the albino gene" "That explains a lot…I'm Jacob" he smirked extending his hand to her "Celeste" she replied gripping his hand "How come your performing here?" he asked genuinely curious about how a band like Arctic Wolves was playing at Forkes High "Family friend called in a favor asked us to come down here…it was a very long trip but I'm beginning to think it was well worth it" she winked at him causing a blush to form on his tanned face "Would you like to dance Jacob?" she asked holding out her hand to him "Like I'd say no to such a beautiful girl" he flirted with her taking her hand and leading her into the middle of the dance floor.
All eyes seemed to be on them as Jacob's arm wrapped around her waist the other gripping her hand, seeing Celeste on the dance floor her fellow band mates smiled and began to play a slow song for them to dance to
"She can't see the way your eyes light up when you smile"
Jacob twirled her and pulled her back close to him with a grace he didn't know he possessed, she smiled as her ivory hair swirled around her a giggle erupting from between her lush pink lips. That was it for Jacob the rest of the world melted away there was only him, Celeste and the music floating around them, he lost track of how long they were dancing until a voice cut through to their private world "Ok well we're gonna change the tempo up a bit for this song before we get Celeste back up here" the bassist girl laughed.
"Wake up in the morning feeling like P-Diddy grab my glasses am out the door"
"You don't have any objection to this sort of dancing do you?" Celeste laughed "With you no I don't think I do" Jacob replied grabbing her waist and pulling her body flush to his as they gyrated their hips together, Celeste's arms wrapped around his neck and Jacob could no longer resist the pull of this beautiful creature he moved his arms to her upper back and pulled her face towards him letting their lips touch it was chaste at first but it quickly turned passionate and fiery, one hand fell to her waist the other was wrapped in her hair at the base of her neck, her hands did they same, running through his ebony locks as their kiss got deeper, all thought was lost to Jacob as he kept his lips and body molded to Celeste. They stayed in lip lock until the song ended, pulling away Jacob had a huge grin across his face, Celeste was blushing heavily and panting slightly "Sorry don't know what came over me" he laughed causing a smirk to form on Celeste's face "Don't apologise when you're not sorry…I'm just glad to be able to help you smile for real…I hope she realises what she's missing" Jacob's mouth dropped open "That wasn't why I kissed you" he scowled slightly a wave of guilt and anger washing over him "I know don't worry I enjoyed it I just know that there's a girl here who's now ready to kill me" she laughed but it didn't make Jacob feel any better.
"Here" she handed him a piece of paper with a number on it a slight blush dusting her cheeks "If she's still too stupid to realise that there's no one better than you then give me a call or if you just want to talk to me I would like it a lot" "What makes you think there's a girl?" "A guy like you has to have someone he's in love with…why else would you come to a school dance at a school you don't attend…its ok though I know you weren't doing it to make her jealous or anything but trust me she is and I'll probably be killed tomorrow" she laughed and Jacob just felt worse, "Celeste come on we need you back up here" shouted the bassist again, he reached a hand out to grab her and she smiled widely, jumped into his arms and gave him a searing kiss before running off to the stage, leaving a stunned Jacob and a lot of gossiping girls.
"Tell me that it's gonna be okay
Tell me that You'll help me find my way
Tell me You can see the light of dawn is breaking
Tell me that it's gonna be alright
Tell me that You'll help me fight this fight
Tell me that You won't leave me alone in this"
Jacob's nose began to twitch when a very familiar scent got closer and closer to him, turning there stood Bella looking rather annoyed and flustered "Jake who was that!?" she practically demanded, still with a dopey grin on his face Jacob replied to her "Oh that was Celeste" she began tapping her foot in irritation "Who is Celeste and why on earth were you kissing her?!" her voice cracking slightly in anger, he tried to concentrate on Bella but his head swam with the sound of Celeste's voice "She's from a sister tribe of the Quilete's, singer of this band the Arctic Wolves and a very understanding girl…as for why I was kissing her why does it even matter?" he replied getting a little annoyed.
"'Cause I need, I need a hand to hold
To hold me from the edge
The edge I'm sliding over slow
'Cause I need, I need Your hand to hold
To hold me from the edge
The edge I'm sliding past Hold on to me"
Bella stomped her foot down childishly "It matters because your supposed to love me…you came here because I asked you to, you were meant to save a dance for me but what do I see but you dancing with some.…some slut" she practically shouted thankfully for Jacob most people weren't paying attention.
"Tell me I can make it through this day
I don't even have the words to pray
You have been the only One who never left me
Help me find the way through all my fears
Help me see the light through all my tears
Help me see that I am not alone in this"
"So that's what this is all about is it Bella… you want everyone to think you have me and Edward wrapped around your little finger…you don't care if you break someone's heart because as long as you have one of us your happy with that well no more Bella ….no more I'm not going to be a love sick puppy chasing after you anymore you're not the girl I once thought you were"
"'Cause I need, I need a hand to hold
To hold me from the edge
The edge I'm sliding over slow
'Cause I need, I need Your hand to hold
To hold me from the edge
The edge I'm sliding past Hold on to me"
A hand appeared in front of Jacob, long slender fingers adorned with a single silver and blood red gem ring, he smiled knowing who it was and grabbed her hand without hesitation as Bella stood fuming glaring daggers at the girl standing above them on the stage "Get away from Jake!" she spat at her, Celeste just laughed and pulled Jacob onto the stage.
"I'm sorry I hope I didn't ruin your chances with her but I couldn't stand to see you looking so upset" she whispered to him during the instrumental section of the song, he couldn't help but smile brightly at her "I don't think I care that much anymore.…she's engaged but doesn't want me to move on so that she has a fall back and she needs to realize I'm not being second best anymore" she smiled at him "That's a very wise thing for such a little wolf to say" Jacob stood just staring at her dumbfounded by her "Little Wolf" comment.
"'Cause I need, I need a hand to hold
To hold me from the edge
The edge I'm sliding over slow
'Cause I need, I need Your hand to hold
To hold me from the edge
The edge I'm sliding past Hold on to me"
She grabbed Jacob's hand and laced their fingers together, giving the impression that the song had be written with him in mind, making everyone believe he'd come here to see the girl on stage instead of the reason Bella had been bragging about. He grabbed her tightly in his arms and kissed her in front of everyone, hoping that now Bella knew how it felt to watch someone you love kissing someone else, happy with someone else, he hoped that it made her realise her selfish ways were wrong. Celeste pulled away to announce that it was their last song after the hoots stopped "Well I'm afraid that's us done for the night I think the DJ will be taking over now, hope you don't mind if we mingle with you guys" she spoke a little breathless from the kiss, this caused Jacob to smirk more and grab her again for another kiss, the wolf whistles and cat calls started up from the crowd again.
Jacob turned to look back at the crowd and he spotted straight away a very anger Bella but next to her Edward stood smiling this shocked Jacob it rattled him to his core to see the genuine smile on the vampires face as if he was actually happy for the young Werewolf. He couldn't help but smile back at the vampire all his real reasons for hating Edward no longer existed he knew he'd imprinted on the girl currently holding his hand, talking with Bella had made him realise that he no longer loved her like he did before that the girl next to him made his heart speed up and slow down all at the same time, made him feel like he couldn't breath at all but like he could breath freely now that he had her, he couldn't describe it but he felt Edward in his mind and the smile on his face grew bigger "I'm sorry" he mouthed to him now finally understanding what Edward must feel in some degree towards Bella though he could no longer understand why after the way she had just been acting.
"So what is going to happen now" Celeste asked looking up at Jacob a slight look of worry in her rose eyes "Well I'd like to talk to you about a few things but what about your friends?" she just laughed "They're sticking around for a bit to have some fun then going to the hotel or to visit relatives on the reservation" Jacob found himself smirking "So I get you all to myself then" she nodded "Good" he grabbed her hand and dashed for the door breaking out into the fresh air breathing deeply" "I'm so glad to be out of that stuffy hall" he exclaimed "Yeah that sickly sweet smell was getting intolerable" she said dryly, this stopped Jacob in his tracks and he turned to face her letting go of her hand "I know what you're going to ask Jacob and I'll save you saying it out loud….I know everything about the legends of your tribe I know what you are and I know what the Cullen's are….we used to be the same tribe remember silly" she laughed, he sighed and let the tension leave him "I guess you're right….but you said you could smell them only Were…." he trailed off "Yeah I'm like you", Jacob looked almost like he was going to faint "Sorry I hope your ok with it" she looked anxious, he smiled and grabbed her firmly pulling her body to his and crashing his lips on hers. He pulled his lips from her but kept their faces touching his lips on her forehead and his fingers caressing her cheek gently "I need to ask you one thing Celeste…." he whispered nervousness creeping into his voice "Ask away" she replied "Have….have you imprinted?" she seemed to stop breathing for that moment "….Yes….on you" he smiled brightly pulling her lips up to meet his once again "That's perfect then I know I have you forever now" .
Celeste smiled brightly trying to suppress the shudder that threatened to run down her spine as Jacob sat behind her on the bed, pulling her ivory hair aside he kissed her neck tenderly as his arms wound their way around her waist. She sat on his bed working on her lap top, a set of large headphones resting over one of her ears so that she could hear herself sing to the music the band had sent her to work with. A huge smile tugged at his lips as Jacob listened to the lyrics her beautiful voice was singing "And when life becomes something just to get through, That's when I'm glad that I belong to you…..I belong to you" his heart swelled in his chest as he held her tighter "I belong to you Jacob Black….my little wolf forever and always" he sighed resting his head on her shoulder "I owe you everything Celeste….you saved me my heart my everything is yours till the end of time" he replied his one so serious it was almost frightening, he pulled her head back gently and placed a passionate kiss upon her lips which she quickly returned. Pulling the headphones from her head he place both them and the laptop on the floor "Jake?" she asked puzzled before he grabbed her once more and pushed her gently down on his bed so she was lying down with him over her, he leaned down nuzzling her neck "Your mine forever Celeste I will never leave you and I swear no one shall ever hurt you while my body still has breath in it….I can't wait till our wedding so then everyone will know just how much you mean to me" he whispered into her ear causing her to shiver "Are you trying to make me reconsider waiting till we're married" she laughed, Jake quickly following suit "I just might be" he chuckled as he began kissing her neck in that teasing way of his.