Author's Note: Ello again. ;) So, a thank you to all of those who read and reviewed my first Twilight fic, Speak Now. You all are incredibly sweet and welcoming to a newbie like myself. :) I've decided I'm going to continue writing Twilight/Team Jacob (maybe Team Edward…? Let me know.). This basically is…well, it's just a short one-shot about Jacob and Bella's friendship when they were little. When Jacob reminds Bella in the first Twilight; "We uh, we used to make mud pies together when we were little." was my inspiration, actually. Quite pointless and OOC, really; but read and review if you wish to make me smile. :) Because a smile itself is a reward.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Mud Pies

Bella grins and holds up her brown creation up to him, "Does it look delicious?" she teases him, inching it closer to his mouth.

"Very." Jacob is fervently focused on the gorgeous girl in front of him, rather than the mud pie that is about to enter his mouth. He comes back to reality and quickly shoves her arm aside. "Wanna find out?" his sly smile causes her to quickly shake her head, regretting she ever asked.

And at that moment, with her auburn ringlets bouncing up and down, and her dark brown eyes fixed on his, he couldn't help but wonder if she felt the same tingly feeling...

"Hi, I'm Jacob." he introduces himself confidently to the new girl at his doorstep.

"Hey. I'm Bella." her smile is hesitant at first, but after seeing his grin, it's quite easy to let her radiant smile shine through. And although he just met her, he knows he likes her without a doubt.

"Nice to meet you, Bella." Jacob takes hold of her hand, pulling her along. "You're going to like it around here."

And that bring us to how eight-year-old Bell Swan and seven-year-old Jacob Black sit comfortably together on the green grass in Jacob's backyard, making mud pies. It's rained all afternoon and it's finally just starting to let up, only drizzling now.

"Mine's going to be soooo much better than yours," he smirks confidently, perfecting his mud pie, obviously letting his ego slip.

Bella looks up at him, smiling. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." Jacob's concentration switches from his mud pie to stare at her.

"Wrong answer." her smile stretches because he knows she's right.

Shaking his head, he looks down and continues working on circling his mud pie to perfection. "Hey, Bella," And after a hesitant beat, "why aren't your dad Charlie and your mom together anymore?"

Looking up, Bella tilts her head, slightly dumbfounded.

"I mean, what happened?"

She nods, finally understanding what he meant. "It happened a few years ago. She hasn't told me why, only that she couldn't take it anymore. So she left him." After seeing the pain and confusion in her eyes, he can tell this isn't an easy topic for her to talk about.

Jacob touches her hand gently; her eyes flicking upward to meet him as he did. "Even if you left me, Bella, I would always be waiting for you to come back."

A faint smile crosses Bella's lips as crimson tinges her cheeks. She solemnly nods in agreement. To break the silence, Bella takes her mud-covered hand and wipes it across Jacob's face. She laughs at him, pointing. "I've always wanted to do that."

But she immediately regrets her actions and choice of words when Jacob is threatening to throw his mud pie right back at her. Bella quickly jumps from the ground and runs away from Jacob as he chases her with mud slopped in his hand, ready to aim and fire. She laughs and screams as she runs away, looking back with her hair all around her face, a grin blossoming.

She turns around and slows her pace, desperately pleading for Jacob to stop. "Pleeeease stop, Jacob!" Bella pants as she catches her breath.

Jacob stands a foot away from her, mud pie in hand. "You surrender?"

Bella nods helplessly. "I guess…"

Jacob jumps at his chance to get her back, since her surrender wasn't absolutely positive. He starts tickling her stomach; every girl's weakness. She bursts into laughter, fighting her hardest against his strength. But she's no match for him at all. Bella accidentally trips, walking backwards, and causes Jacob to come tumbling on top of her.

He hovers over her on the ground and smiles slightly. "Surrender?" This was a different kind of surrender he was talking about now.

Bella rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "Never." She remains under him and under his brown gaze.

Just when friction is pulling their lips closer…

"Bells, time to go!"

Charlie.

They struggle to get up, and Jacob offers her his hand to help her up. He pulls her into his embrace and they both smile, taking a small step backwards.

Without thinking, Bella places a kiss on his cheek. "See you later, Jake."

Jacob watches her leave, a smile on his lips and a hand on his cheek. "I'm never washing this cheek again."

Author's Note: Oh my…this was awful, I fear. It is indeed really random and corny, but inspiration hits me like that, I suppose. And remember that one-shot I mentioned in my last one-shot? Well, that idea was ditched and so this came about. Hope you all don't mind. :)

Review? Because you're awesome? Definitely. (;