A/N: Hey, guys. I wanted to take a little break and soothe away some of the pressure and stress I've been having due to school and to the third chapter of "A New Life", so I decided to write this little one-shot for you Jake and Nessie lovers out there like me. It starts with a bit of angst, but I'm sure you guys will love the end. Thanks again to everyone who have reviewed/favorite/alerted my stories or me. Enjoy. LBB

P.S. It makes nice background music if you listen to Mr. Brightside - The Killers in the first part, and If It Kills Me- Jason Mraz for the second part. :)

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, but in my head I do. :)

This Time

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."

Dr. Seuss

It was history repeating itself all over again. It was hell. It was torture watching her with another one of her douche bag 'friends' who always wanted something more. If there was a god, he was now smiling down upon Jacob and laughing at his pain. 'This wasn't supposed to happen again,' he thought. 'This time, it was meant to be. There would be no complications and love triangles or any of that shit.'

He had waited patiently and stood faithfully by her side ever since day one, basking in her glow and beauty. He would never forget the day when he first saw her, and that once hated and feared pull took over him completely. It was inevitable. It was unstoppable, just like his love for her.

There had been boys throughout her elementary and junior high years—nothing special. He would kiss and soothed away the pain of all those disappointing relationships, never judging or reprimanding her. It was in those moments that he hoped and prayed fervently that one day she would finally gaze at him with her beautiful chocolate eyes and see him. But it never happened.

At first he told himself that it was because of her age--she was just too innocent to look at him the same way he did. She had barely turned 16 when he started growing impatient. The changes in her body and personality didn't help either. Her once childlike face and body morphed into the body of a young, mature woman. Where once there had been unstable and awkward movements, there were now graceful and unintentionally seductive ones. Her slim, straight body was now filled with curves in all the right places and two pairs of new additions welcomed the purchase of form fitting shirts and jeans.

Though she now had body of a young woman, he believed she still had the mind of a young girl. And so he tried waiting patiently…until she turned 18.

"Give her time, Jake." Bella would tell him every time his shoulders slumped and heaved under her oblivious rejection. "She'll come around," she promised as Jacob slowly slid towards the floor.

"What if she doesn't, Bells?" He whispered, slumping even more against the thought. "It was hell going through it once, but now… Now I won't survive it."

Bella crouched down in front of him on the floor with a sad smile on her face. "I'm sorry. First me and now my baby is hurting you. It's unintentional now, as it was then, believe me. Be strong, Jacob."

After that conversation Jacob decided to stay away even though it physically hurt. There was no describing the pain he felt as soon as he walked away from her house. It was a sharp pain, but it never stopped. It was constant. He stayed locked up in his room, only coming out to eat or do other mundane things, because it was the only thing the pain permitted him to do. He ignored Embry's feeble attempts at telling him that she had called or stopped by to see how he was. He didn't want to know. He didn't need any more temptations to escape and run back to her, to crawl and beg until his body and voice were gone.

For two weeks he planned and re-planned on what he would say and do when he saw her. A part of his brain suggested that he try for the spontaneous way, just like he had done so with her mother.

'What the fuck, Jacob? You want to get the daughter and you're thinking about the tactics you used to try to get the mom?'

He shuddered for a moment, considering what would be Renesmee's reaction if she knew about that. Not a good idea when he was trying to convince her that he was the one for her.

He planned some more until the only option he could think of was to just be honest and just spit it out, to just tell her his undying love and devotion to her. What was the worse she could do?

'Uh, she could cut you open, take your heart out, and throw it away without hesitation? In other words, shut you down and leave you humiliated and hurt.'

Right, he thought. No problem.

~/~/~/~/~

Next day, he took great care with his personal grooming and appearance. He cut his hair after noticing it was getting shaggy again and shaved. When he looked in the mirror again, it was the face of a lonely, depressed 23 year old that looked back. The bags under his eyes and the deep frown on his face were enough proof of what she was doing to him.

He lingered a moment on his decision on what to wear, which was unusual for him. On other days, he rarely gave a shit on what other people thought about his appearance, but not today. Instead on the regular athletic shorts and t-shirt, he chose one of the three nicest pairs of jeans he had and a pricey navy blue polo Bella had given him along with his sneakers.

"Well, here goes nothing," he said nonchalantly. He grabbed his house and car keys for his VW Rabbit before leaving the house.

All the way to the Cullens', Jacob's heart kept pounding in his chest, his breathing quick and shallow.

"C'mon, Black, you can do this. Man up," He growled to himself. He parked as quietly as he could in their driveway and shut the engine, leaning against the seat for a minute to catch his breath.

Just as he was about to exit his car, the front door opened, revealing Bella and Edward about to leave. When Jacob caught Bella's gaze, she gave him a confused and relieved look at the same time. Edward, though… He stared at Jacob with a cold look, his golden eyes slowly turning metallic.

"Jake," Bella greeted. "What's the matter? You look nervous." She observed, studying him suspiciously.

Jacob shook his head as he leaned to kiss her cold cheek. "I'm fine; I'm just here to talk to Nessie, Bella. She's here, right?" He asked, even though it was useless since he could smell and hear her on the top floor.

Just as Bella was about to say something, Edward interceded and cleared his throat. "Sweetheart, why don't you get in the car?" He asked her gently, squeezing her hand. "I need to speak to Jacob."

Bella's eyes shifted between Jacob's and Edward's face for a minute before she sighed and got into the passenger side of convertible silver Audi. If it had been in another time, Jacob would've taken his time and studied the car like the car aficionado he was. But the moment was now, and Edward was still staring at him coldly.

"Follow me, Jacob," he said in a 'no arguing' voice. If there was one thing Jacob had learned about Edward in the last years was that whenever Edward was mad, but he still kept his cool, it was bad.

They walked away from the house and into the woods until they both couldn't hear Bella's soft breathing. Edward slowly turned to face him, a blank look on his face. He breathed in deeply through his nose, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again slowly on the exhale.

"I'm not going to dance around the subject with you, Jacob Black," he said, his voice low and deep. "I knew that this day was going to arrive and… it has. It would be an understatement for me to say that I was shocked when I realized you had imprinted on Nessie."

He took another breath in before continuing.

"I had seen and witnessed how the women your brothers imprinted on are treated, and that gave a small comfort that at least Renesmee would be in good hands… until now."

Jacob's gulp was audible as Edward stepped closer to him with slow steps. He looked up into Jacob's face and gaze at him for a second, as if searching for something in his dark eyes.

"What happened, Jacob? She's been a wreck for the past two weeks. She won't talk, she's barely eating, and she simply won't sleep. What happened?" He hissed, suddenly angry.

"I'm sorry, I know I messed up royally, but I just—I just had to get away for a little bit, Edward," he quickly explained. "Don't think that it's been easy for me leaving her, because it wasn't. You of all people should know how hard it is to leave the woman you love."

As soon as what he said registered, Jacob tensed his body, waiting for an outraged reaction from Edward. But it never came. Edward stared at Jacob for a moment, his hands now clenched at his sides in anger.

'Edward, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that.'

Edward held up a hand to stop him, his body now curved in defeat at what Jacob had said.

"No, you're right. I do know what that's like, Jacob. But understand that this is my daughter I'm talking about. Whatever hurts her hurts me. But I also understand where you're coming from. It's not easy or pleasant going through this experience twice, but just like you did the first time, you need to fight for her. I've seen the boys who have courted her, and believe me; you've got no competition whatsoever. They are unworthy of her."

Jacob looked down, bashful. "I know that," he muttered, kicking at the stones with his feet. "It's just that… it's not that easy for me to just go up to her and say, 'Hey, Nessie, guess what? I've had this pervert crush on you since the moment you popped out of your mom, who I happened to have had this crazy love for before you came, oh, and because of this major crush that I have on you, I can't be interested in other girls ever.'"

Edward's lips turned up into a small smile at Jacob's sarcastic comment.

"Do you remember that day when you invited Bella to a bonfire on the reservation and your father talked about the Quileute legends? You mentioned to Bella just how strong imprinting is—not only on the imprinter, but also on the imprinted. 'It's hard to resist that level of commitment and adoration,' right?"

Jacob was speechless. Not only because Edward remembered word for word what he had said, but also because he suddenly realized to what he was getting at.

When he spoke, his voice quivered. "Y- You… think that she might feel the same way about me?" He asked.

Edward smiled. "Yes. It doesn't take a mind reader to see that she truly cares about you, Jacob. She's hesitant about those feelings, because like you, she believes that they won't be returned so she's holding back. Tell her. Don't make her—and you—suffer any longer."

Jacob nodded thoughtfully. "But, how do I do it? Not all of us are suave and smooth talking like you, Edward." He said with a roll of his eyes.

Edward laughed. He placed a hand on Jacob's broad shoulder and led him back to the house.

"You don't need any of that. Voicing your true feelings alone is all she'll need to hear."

"Alright, bloodsucker," Jacob said gruffly, "This better work or else it's gonna be my ass."

"You fail to realize that it would also be my ass, too. She'll figure out that I was the one to reveal her."

Jacob's eyebrow furrowed. "Why wouldn't she suspect of Bells?"

"Bella promised her—made her swear that she wouldn't say a word. She counted on my opposition of you two being together to not tell."

"Oh," was Jacob's reply. "So, uh… Do I have your blessing?"

Edward sighed and raised his left hand to put it on Jacob's shoulder again. "You have our blessing. Just… take care of her, Jacob."

"Always," he replied with a grin.

A few minutes after Edward and Bella had left—Bella voiced her happiness without restraint—Jacob walked into their three story house, already knowing his way up the wooden staircase to the second floor where Renesmee was. He walked slowly and carefully up the stairs, making sure that he wasn't being anticipated. As he got closer to her door, he could hear faint music coming from the inside and a small tapping sound to the beat of it.

He breathed in deeply twice before knocking softly on her door. When no reply came, he slowly opened it to reveal an amazing sight. Renesmee lay on her back, one of her arms up above her head while the other clutched a small wooden box. It was the box Jacob had more for her with designs of her favorite flower, orchids, on the top and on the sides. Her eyes were closed, giving her a peaceful look, except for the small frown on her full, plump lips. To completely the picture of a goddess resting, her reddish-brown ringlets were splayed wildly around her face, giving her the look of surrendering to someone. Now he realized why she hadn't heard him. She was listening to her headphones, the music loud enough so that he could the soft tunes of the song.

"Renesmee," Jacob whispered, his tone full of agony.

Her eyes snapped open, as if she had suddenly been awakened. She slowly plucked the ear buds out of her ears and raised herself up to a sitting position. Her breath caught in her throat as her warm, intense eyes took in every part of Jacob.

"Jacob? Is it truly you?" She whispered.

He nodded. "I'm here, Nessie. I'm so sorry."

Immediately after the apology had left his lips, her eyes hardened and narrowed to slits. She stood up and stepped closer to him, still holding the box in her hands tightly.

"What are you doing here? I thought you'd gone away."

Her words hit him straight in the heart. How could she think him as evil and cruel as to just leave her without saying goodbye?

He swallowed the sadness before speaking. "No. I just… had to get away for a while. I'm so sorry for not explaining anything to you."

He watched in utter amazement as she dropped the box on the bed, clenching her fists tight against her sides as well as her teeth. Her face turned a vivid red as he felt her anger rolling powerfully from her.

"Sorry? You're sorry?" She spit the last word, her voice now turning into a hiss. "Sorry doesn't make up the fact that you left me, Jacob! Without as much as a warning you left! Do you realize how worried I was about you?"

"Renesmee, please, let me ex---"

"I tried calling you! Embry said you were out or sleeping, or some other shit just to excuse the fact that you didn't want to talk to me. I came over to your house, hoping that that would be enough for me to see you, but no! You were too much of a coward to even look me in the eye."

"It's not like that! I needed to figure some things out—clear my head!" He yelled, now just as angry as her.

She stepped closer now, their noses almost touching. "Then why didn't you come to me? We are supposed to be friends, Jacob, I wanted to help you!"

"You can't!"

"Why not?" She asked, outraged.

"Because you are what I needed to figure out!" He burst.

Both froze as they realized what he had just said. Renesmee's face was suddenly clear of all anger, now replaced by pain, confusion, and sadness.

"What? What do you mean?"

Jacob looked down, clenching his jaw for a moment before looking up.

Fuck it. It's now or never.

"I love you," he said in a strong voice. "I've loved since the day you were born."

Her eyes widened while her mouth dropped open a little in pure disbelief. He automatically her heart rapid beating heart beat even faster; skipping a beat or two as she backed away more until her back hit the opposite wall.

"Have you ever wondered why I'm so devoted to you? Why I'm always by you side?"

She shook her head slowly once, her body pressed tightly against the wall.

"You know Embry, Quil, Jared, and even Paul imprinted. One day, they just looked at a girl and this pull took over them, leaving nothing else behind except the woman they imprinted on. Well, that day came for me the same day you were born. The moment I saw you in Rosalie's arms… nothing else mattered. Absolutely nothing could ever pull me away from you since that moment. I wanted to protect you, to just hold in my arms. I promised myself that I would never let anything or anyone hurt you in that moment, because whatever hurt you would also hurt me." He paused for every to catch his breath, noticing how a single tear slowly descended down her pink cheek.

"You… are everything I want and everything I could ever need, Renesmee. I don't need air, food, or water to keep me alive, because all I need is you."

He stepped closer to her, until there were only a few inches between their chests. He gently took her warm hands in his and kissed her palms softly. He looked down, straight into her deep brown eyes as he spoke.

"You give me air with each breath you take. You give me strength and warmth just by looking into your eyes or receiving one of you beautiful smiles. Your touch feeds my love for you daily; it's like a pleasant weight in my stomach after just eating your favorite meal."

He felt silly as he explained his last reason, looking down in embarrassment. He looked up only when he felt her pulling her hands away, his heart instantly breaking at her putting distance between them. He closed his eyes, not wanting to witness her departure. What he didn't expect was to feel her small, slim hands gently caressing his cheeks and under his chin to lift his head up.

He couldn't help gasping softly as his eyes once again met hers. For in them, he saw the love he felt reflected right back at him. It stole his breath away; it made him dizzy and delirious with joy. Without hesitating, he brought his hand up to support the back of neck as he tilted her head up with the other to kiss her lips.

It was heaven. It was pure bliss and happiness as he felt her lips responding almost immediately. He kissed her slowly and gently at first, both exploring and savoring the other's taste, as if it was the last time they would taste it. He decided she tasted faintly sweet, yet warm, with just a little bit of sourness to make him addicted to it. He pressed more firmly into her lips, moving faster against hers, desperate to steal more of her wonderful taste. He felt her hands caress his neck and shoulders briefly before reaching into his hair, scratching his scalp firmly, driving a soft moan out of him. He suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her tightly against his hard body. Renesmee gasped against his lips, snapping him out of a trance.

He pulled again gently, kissing her lips once more before looking into her eyes again. Their breathing was fast and heavy as they tried to calm down their fluttering hearts.

"Jacob, I never realized any of this," she said, shaking her head sadly. "I always thought that you just saw me as a friend—a sister, maybe. But only in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine you would feel the same way about me as I do about you. I can't begin to describe to you how happy I feel now that I know that you love me just as much as I love you. I almost regret not telling you sooner, we've lost so much precious time."

He cupped her cheek, silently delighting in how she instantly leaned her head into his hand.

"Don't worry about that. I'm just glad that now we finally have each other, and we have all the time in the world, Nessie."

She smiled widely at this, her eyes twinkling in the dim room. Just as quickly as the smile came, it disappeared just as quickly.

"What's the matter?" He asked.

"I still don't understand why you avoided me. Why did you stay away?"

"I couldn't bear seeing you with another one of your friends, having a front row seat as they broke your heart. Each day was torture, because I wanted to see you, but each day that passed in which you were oblivious to my feelings hurt much stronger than the last."

She ran the back of her hand against his cheek in circles. "I'm very sorry for that. At first, I only felt affectionate love for you, like a brother. I thought that that was what we were meant to be and that idea grew more as you protected me and soothe my pain from other relationships. In a way, I almost took you for granted." She confessed.

Jacob grimaced slightly. He didn't want to hear this. Renesmee smiled sadly, still caressing his cheek as she spoke.

"Remember my 16th birthday? You made that lovely box for me and told me that I could keep whatever was the most precious I had in it." She reached for the box on the bed and offered it to him. He gave her a confused look, hesitantly taking the box from her.

"You---You don't want it anymore?" He whispered in pain.

"Not unless I can possibly make you fit in it," she sighed. "You are the most precious thing I have, and I never want to let you go, but I don't think you'll fit in this box, do you?"

Jacob smiled and placed the box back on the bed. He took her hands between his and kissed her palms and fingers lovingly.

"Keep the box. I personally promise you that I'll never leave your side ever again."

She looked up into his face with the cutest pout he had ever seen. "You promise?"

"I promise you, Renesmee that I'll never leave you again. I love you so much."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, getting up on her tip-toes to kiss his forehead, his nose, and finally his mouth.

"I love you, too, Jake. We'll always be together." She said in a confident tone.

"I knew that from the first day I saw you."

~/~/~/~/~

After letting all of their feelings out, they both laid down on her bed, sharing kisses and soft touches throughout the whole day until they fell asleep. When Jacob woke up again, he was greeted with the site of Edward and Bella standing outside the doorway. Bella had a hand placed squarely on Edward's chest as a restraint. Edward's hand was holding on the wrist of her hand, planning to move it away.

He looked down sleepily at Renesmee's form and flushed at the way she was laying on top of him with an arm underneath her while the other one was thrown across his torso, their chests mashed together. Her legs were intertwined with his so well, that even he couldn't tell where his ended and hers began.

He looked back up at Edward and noticed the silent threat in his eyes. Jacob smiled sheepishly at him while pulling away hastily from Renesmee. When he successfully pulled her arm away, Renesmee groaned and reached blindly for him. When she realized that he was missing, she opened her eyes, a confused look on her face when she saw Jacob standing rigid by her bed.

"Jake?" She asked, her voice full of sleep. "What's wrong? Why are you up?"

Jacob gestured towards her parents by the door. Renesmee gasped when she saw Edward, sitting up so quickly the bed shook.

"Dad, it's not what it looks like. We didn't do anything, I swear."

He glanced at her for a moment before pointing to Jacob and motioning towards the door.

"Out, Jacob," he ordered.

"No, wait!" She begged, reaching for Jacob's hand. "Dad, please don't do anything to him, okay?"

"Renesmee," Edward chided softly. "Do you really think me that cruel? I just want the both of you to get some rest; Jacob can come back tomorrow to see you."

Renesmee's hold reluctantly softened and finally loosened on Jacob's hand. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I'll be here tomorrow bright and early. I love you," he murmured against her forehead.

She sighed contently. "I love you, too."

Bella and Edward escorted him down to the main door; no one uttered a single word. Just as he was about to leave, he turned abruptly and smiled at them both.

"Thank you to the both of you, for giving me greatest thing in my life. Goodnight."

He kissed Bella's cheek and received a handshake from Edward.

"Goodnight," They said.

As he drove back home, he thought about how the day had started so miserably for him and ended as if he had gone to heaven. No, this was better than that, it was a dream come true.

He couldn't sleep that night, too eager and excited to see Renesmee. He was eager to see her, hold her, and kiss her. He wanted to swim in her bright brown eyes and buried his face in her bronze ringlets, breathing in her soft yet vibrant smell.

I can't wait to love you as you deserve, Renesmee. I'll love you forever.

A/N: Thank you for reading, I hoped you like it, and don't forget to review. It might just give me the boost to finish the third chapter of "A New Life…"

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