Chapter one – BBHB
I hummed and drummed my thumbs on my steering wheel as I drove to the supermarket. I sighed as I looked for a place to park the too small car park. The sight that met my eyes then was the highlight of my day so far: a space, quite near to the door! I swiftly parked and went to go do the grocery shopping, like I did every Friday from school. I quickly went round the shop with my shopping list and paid at the till, only to realise that it had started raining again. Not a surprise really.
I peered out the window at the drizzle, desperately wishing that I hadn't left my waterproof in my run-down truck, the clown of the car park. Great. Now I would have to run to my truck with all my groceries, meanwhile getting soaked and probably tripping a few times, knowing me. Thank god I didn't have far to run.
Typical. I tripped on my way out the door, sending the contents of my bags skittering all over the ground. Just great! Literally the best thing that's happened to me today has been finding a good parking space near the door, how great is my life? Even better than that, I'll have to carry all the shopping in on my own, in the rain... then cook dinner for me and Charlie. Joy. I sighed and gazed dejectedly at my scattered shopping, wishing I was someone else for just a few minutes, I mean, was that really too much to ask?
"Hey, are you alright? Do you need any help?" A smooth, rich voice asked.
I looked up into the startlingly bright emerald eyes of the most attractive guy I'd ever seen, let alone who had ever been nice enough to help me, "Uh... Yeah?" I asked, the sudden and complete absence of my brain leaving me speechless... and searching for something at least half-way intelligent to say.
He grinned at me and started to help me gather the groceries, we both stood up, him with two of my bags and one of his own and me with my remaining three bags. We both ran to my truck, heads bowed against the pelting rain and shoved my shopping inside. I turned to the helpful stranger once I was safely out of the rain.
"Thanks for all the help," I said gratefully as I looked more carefully at him for the first time. He wore an old grey coat that wasn't remotely waterproof – he definitely wasn't from around here – and slightly too big, he looked about my age and I could see the sleeve of his moth-eaten, woolly jumper just peeking out from under his coat, "You know, you don't look like you're from around here."
He grinned again – was he determined to prove just how attractive he was? I was mesmerised by his lips as he started talking, "I'm not, we're just in town for a few weeks... Well, bye then," he waved as he walked backwards for a small distance, then turned and started running.
I felt a small pang of guilt at being at least semi-dry in my truck with the heat on, I was starting to warm up quite nicely. While he was was looking – and probably feeling too – like a drowned rat as he ran across the car park... and he still managed to look incredibly attractive. I shouldn't have kept him stood in the down pour that was more characteristic of Forks, talking to me. Ok, the new highlight of my day was meeting... him, the beautiful, bronze-haired boy.
My weekend consisted of cooking, cleaning and reading... oh, and homework but I think it would be less painful for everyone if I just left that part out. While Charlie was out fishing I was left alone in the house, fun. Even the book I was reading, I'd already read a fair few times before, I guess it was just adding to the monotony of my existence. Charlie barely spoke for the few hours he was in the house and awake – again, not really a surprise there. I was so bored of my life. Even my happy friend Jake was becoming predictable – perpetual happiness is not as exciting as it sounds – and I found myself wanting something a little different, for something to happen. But would it? Really, not much had changed or happened since I'd moved back here.
On Monday, Charlie came home and was unusually vocal. He had been muttering and grumbling under his breath all evening since he came home until he finally exploded over my lasagne... not literally, that would be just gross.
"We shouldn't let those flaming travellers stay in that field, it's a public area! Kids sometimes play there! We'll have a bloody big clean up job after they've gone, we always do! No respect for anything bloody pikeys!" Charlie vented. Being a police chief, he was more exposed to the worse aspects of society – especially travellers – than the better aspects.
"Oh, what are these ones up to then? Faulty drives? Half-hearted drain clearing? Streaky window cleaning?" I asked, already trying to predict in my head what he would be grumbling about for the entire time they would be here for.
"Circus," Charlie grunted, grudgingly admitting that these travellers at least were making honest money. I was a little surprised at first, but I quickly turned my thoughts to making plans to go see the circus next weekend, it was something different to do, why not? Granted, going to the circus wasn't quite the escape from my rut that I had in mind, but at least it was a start, right?
On Tuesday I stumbled my way through school and arrived home to the sound of the phone ringing. It was Jake calling to ask me – five points to whoever guesses right – if I wanted to go to the circus while it was here. I really should've factored him into my plans.
"Hey Jake," I said breathlessly into the phone after rushing to get to it before the answer phone picked up.
"Hey Bella! Listen, there's a circus in town! Quil and Embry have already been and they said they want to join! Ha! So I was thinking maybe we could go... but we'd have to take Seth as well."
"As if Seth could put me off, I happen to actually like Seth you know, he's very kind and sweet," I replied.
"Yeah, yeah. Just try having him want to follow you everywhere you go."
I really didn't want to get into that argument again – been there, done that more times than I can count – so I changed the subject, "So when are we going? Can it be this Saturday cause I'm usually exhausted on Fridays after I get the shopping in and cook dinner."
"You know, you sound just like a mum," Jake chuckled.
I huffed in irritation. Again, I should've expected that Jake would find some way to annoy me within the first five minutes of conversation, "Better than sounding like an immature twelve-year-old," I retorted, to which Jake simply laughed.
Jake hung up with barely a bye Bella. I sighed and decided to do something other than fish for dinner. I didn't know about Charlie, but I was getting sick and tired of fish nearly every night... maybe I could get Charlie into hunting instead. The rest of my evening was uneventful.
On Wednesday, Mike finally got the hint – more like a blaring neon sign with sirens and confetti – that Jessica liked him. Thank god. He stopped hanging on my every word like it was the difference between life and death, at first, it had been flattering, but then it got uncomfortable – especially after I'd rejected him a few times. We had a test in Biology and in English, just to make my day so much better. I hate Wednesdays, the only lesson I actually like on Wednesdays was English. And then my truck ran out of petrol... before I could get to the garage to fill it up. Just my luck. I let my head bang on the steering wheel and groaned, half in exasperation, half in defeat.
"Hey, do you need a push?" a voice that I vaguely recognised sounded from my left.
I looked up and was a little surprised to see the helpful stranger had appeared, just when I needed him again. I quickly took all of him in, he was wearing the same over-sized coat as Friday and some old jeans, at least he didn't look like a drowned rat again. My eyes ran back up to his face – I couldn't see his shoes as the opaque part of the car door blocked them out – the amount of charm this guy had was ridiculous. He looked as surprised to see me as I was to see him. My brain had once again been wiped blank by surprise – but mostly his good looks – leaving me incapable of speech.
As I stared his smile faltered. Oh no, he was probably thinking that I was wondering how to reject him nicely – I had seen the same look on Mike's face about a million times before when I was trying to think of new things to be doing when Mike asked me out. I watched in horror as the rejection seemed to wash over him.
"Ok, I get it. I'll just... leave you to it then," He backed away with his hands held up in surrender and just as he turned to walk away I scrambled around in my embarrassingly empty head and finally blurted out something.
"No, wait!" he turned back to me, "Sorry, I was just... really surprised to see you – although I really shouldn't be, I mean the town is that small, I really should've been expecting to see you again, even if it is twice in one week," I stuttered trying to make up for the stunned state of my brain earlier.
He grinned – is it me or does he do that a lot? – and walked to the back of my truck and together we managed to roll my truck into the petrol station so I could fill it up. "So, thanks again."
"It's my pleasure, fair damsel," he bowed with an over-the-top flourish and a crooked smile.
I laughed and shook my head at his playfulness as I walked to the other side of the truck to fill it up. I couldn't help but peek up at him as he walked into the shop... then it occurred to me that I hadn't seen his car, did he have one? I frowned, there wasn't much of a path along this road, the petrol station was on the outskirts of town, so not many people walked along here.
I went inside to pay – I looked for him but he must have already bought his things – got back in my truck and started to drive home. But I didn't get very far because, as I was pulling out onto the road I saw a certain familiar figure sigh and walk out into the rain that had once again picked up while I was inside the shop. I immediately pulled up beside him as he was trudging through the long grass verge on the side of the road. He was carrying two bags of dog food, three bags of apples and an assortment of sweets.
"Hey! Do you need a lift?" I called out the window.
He looked up in surprise and squinted against the rain. He was already soaked through and shivering – today was a lot colder than Friday – he looked like a lost puppy that you couldn't help but take home and cuddle and stroke all the time... not that I would actually do that though, that would be a little bit creepy. The beautiful, bronze-haired boy – aka BBHB for short – looked torn as he hovered on the edge of the road, so I leaned over and opened the passenger door for him.
As soon as I opened the door, BBHB's eyes snapped to look longingly at the warm, dry inside of my truck, "Ok then," he reluctantly agreed and hopped after unloading his arms. "Thanks," BBHB said as he sat in the passenger seat.
"So, where to?" I asked smiling at him.
"Er..." he hesitated. He shifted uncomfortably and I wondered what could be embarrassing about where he lived – Forks wasn't that big a town, it didn't have rich areas and poor areas. Then he quickly and quietly mumbled, "the field up the hill by the camp-site."
I had to concentrate to catch it, but when I did , I just nodded and drove. After a while the awkwardness grew impossible to ignore, "So, how old are you?" I asked – it was the first thing that popped into my head, don't judge me!
"Sixteen, I'm gonna be seventeen soon, I cant wait until my birthday."
"Trust me, seventeen isn't all it's cracked up to be, during the months so far that I've been seventeen my life has been even more boring," I replied.
BBHB threw back his head and laughed – finally someone who appreciated my wit – then said, "No, I don't really care about actually being seventeen, but every birthday my mum makes the best chocolate cake ever. Then everyone gets some and the biggest slice is always saved for the birthday... person. My birthday's next and mum only makes it on birthdays."
"Wow, that sounds nice," I said trying to imagine that happening with my own family, "If that happened in my family, I would be stuck making the cake since no-one I know can actually cook."
BBHB laughed and I joined in, "Don't worry, I'll come and make you the cake, I always help my mum make the cake so I'm sure I would be fine doing it on my own for you."
I gasped and put one hand over my chest, "Wow, I feel so honoured," I fluttered my eyelashes at him, playing the fair damsel like he called me before.
"Well, you never know, when it's your birthday I might just turn up at on your doorstep to make you the best cake you have ever eaten... you might have to make the rest of the food though – there's not much apart from that cake that I can actually make."
"Oh, that's fine, as long as I get my cake I'm happy."
"Then you shall be happy milady, as I shall make you the sacred cake of birthdays."
"Why thank you, kind sir," I replied, mimicking his archaic tone.
Suddenly BBHB sat up straighter in his seat and suddenly said, "Just here's fine thanks." I looked around but couldn't see anything inhabitable, I tried to protest but he insisted I drop him off there. So I reluctantly pulled over and watched slightly bewildered as he jumped out, grabbed his things and ran off after he quickly but cheerily said thanks and bye to me.
I watched him disappear around the corner then shrugged and began the extremely long and difficult process of turning my big truck around in this decidedly narrow road. They really should put this on the driving exam – it took me that long. So, after approximately five billion years, I drove home.
On Thursday, the only thing of note was that the sun was shining... and I smiled – I mean a real, genuine smile. Why was I even living in a place as wet as Forks when the rain made me so miserable? Oh yeah, because my mum started trailing after Phill all over the US. Leaving Charlie as my only option.
I also wondered why BBHB was so embarrassed about staying on a camp-site for a few weeks. I mean, some people apparently seem to enjoy living in incessant wetness like that. I just preferred to be able to dry off at the end of the day. Nothing wrong with that at all... or camping, nothing wrong with camping at all – unless anyone decides to drag me along, then its totally not ok.
Friday, I went grocery shopping... again. I knew it probably wasn't going to happen but I couldn't stop myself from hoping. I couldn't stop myself from looking around every five seconds. I couldn't stop myself from being disappointed when I didn't see him. Of course my life was still as mundane as last week. What had really changed? Other than meeting a – beautiful – helpful stranger, twice... who I still didn't know the name of. Oh yeah, and Jake and Seth and I are going to the circus. My life is so exciting now!
Just as I was hauling the last of the shopping bags in, the phone rang. There was really only one person it could be, Jake – ok, technically it could be other people, but I would bet everything I own and then some, that it would be Jake.
"Hi Jake," I said, not even bothering to look at the caller ID, I bet he wont even say hello...
"Guess what?" I just did, and – guess what? I got it right! He sounded pretty pleased with himself anyway.
"What?" I asked, thinking how the conversation would have to be fairly short or else all of the frozen food will melt.
"I got us out of taking Seth!" he said excitedly, next would come... an explanation of why we weren't taking Seth any more, then he'll try to modify our... trip to get a little extra time with me – I was starting to see something similar to Mike in his actions, I hoped I wouldn't have to reject Jake too, "Sue and Harry decided they were going and they would take Seth. So, would you like to go on a picnic before? You know, make a day of it?" score! I think I like my new game.
I briefly contemplated saying I was busy then... but Jake knew I wouldn't be busy then, damn. "Ok," I replied, please don't mention the first aid kit, please don't mention the first aid kit, please don't mention the first aid kit!
"Great! I'll at yours for twelve, don't forget your hiking boots or the food... or the first aid kit!" Damn.
"Sure, bye Jake," I hung up and hurried to save the frozen food from death by defrost.
Conversation at the dinner table consisted mainly of: "I might be home late tomorrow.", "Why?", "I'm going to see the circus with Jake." Grunt... How articulate.
Saturday, I woke up late and had time for my breakfast, one piece of homework and packing our lunch before Jake was knocking on my door. He was a little early so I let him in and made him wait as I continued getting ready. We ended up leaving the house at ten to twelve anyway because Jake was so eager, that boy's appetite knows no bounds, or by the looks of things, the feeling of being full.
Jake drove us to where the trail started then he took the bag for the short hike to the small picnic area. The sun was shining which was a good thing, but it did little to improve the temperature, it was mid November, I was surprised it had stayed warm for as long as it had.
However, the short hike ended up lasting an hour and a half. I don't care what Jake says, he definitely got us lost, I know my natural sense of direction was kinda the bargain offer that doesn't really work properly – same goes for my balance by the way – but even I could tell we were going round in circles. Anyway, the hike was only meant to take fifteen minutes, instead it took six times that! And no, the picnic area did not move, if anyone asks – if you do you lose three points.
Me and Jake took out the food then proceeded scarf it down and he probably would've eaten everything, had I not managed to steal some morsels for myself. I swear, when Jake was introduced to solids, it was like love at first sight, when Jake is around food, nothing else exists. I still couldn't decide whether I found it more funny or disgusting, I studied him for a bit as he was eating then decided... disgusting, he was definitely disgusting.
I looked around at the other picnic tables which were completely deserted, it was nice and quiet. Peaceful. I looked at my watch and my eyes shot up, we'd been at this table for forty-five minutes already, we only had three hours forty-five minutes until we were meant to be at the circus and I wanted to leave early in case the road decided to move this time. I looked around again thinking how much nicer everything looked in the sunshine... which led to me making myself miserable over how much rain Forks got.
Just as my thoughts has once again turned more pleasant, Jacob's hand clicking in front of my face broke me out of my daydreaming – I was already annoyed at him, did he have to go and make things worse for himself? I looked at Jake expecting something fairly important to come out of his mouth like I'd been daydreaming for three hours or something.
"You were daydreaming again, Bella," he said.
"I know, I was kinda the one doing it Jake," I replied sarcastically.
Jacob chuckled and shook his head like I was an amusing child to him, he was really starting to piss me off today; first, he gets us lost in the woods. Second, he snaps me out of a really good daydream. Third, he talks to me as if I'm thick. Suddenly I was tired and wanted to go home, but I was too excited about the circus later to do that, I could put up with Jake until we got to the circus... I think.
My thoughts started to drift again and after a little while, I looked at my watch again, it was half-past two. Now I had only three and a half more hours to go, maybe I could convince Jake to get there early by pretending I'm really excited about the circus – which really wouldn't involve much pretending. I started to think about how I could persuade Jake into leaving early.
Jake clicked his hand in front of my face again, "You were daydreaming again, Bella," he said while looking amused – which I didn't find remotely amusing at all.
"No shit Sherlock," I retorted before I quickly resumed planning out how I was going to get out of here early with a lot more vigour. Was he being this annoying on purpose?
"Do you wanna play that game we used to when we was little where you have to find the pictures in the clouds?" oh my god, he was a little child!
"Fine," I sighed and turned my head to the sky.
Once I'd got Jake entertained, I was able to relax. Maybe the afternoon could be salvaged? We ended up making pictures out of clouds contentedly for two and a half hours, until I felt Jacob's hand on my own. It wasn't so bad, I mean he was my friend, and it was just my hand, so I was fine with it. Then our shoulders were touching, then our thighs then Jake leant his head on my shoulder and by now I was starting to get a little uncomfortable. It felt too... intimate. It felt weird. And apparently, Jacob wasn't getting this vibe.
I shrugged out from under him as casually as I could and went back to cloud watching... until Jake ruined everything. I suppose I cant really blame him, although I was happy until he opened his big mouth. I suppose it had to come out some time though, honestly, I was expecting it.
"Bella, do you ever think we could be... you know, more than friends?"
I sighed, "Are you asking me out Jacob?"
"Bella, I like you, I think you're really pretty and you're a really good cook and I like everything about you," he pleaded with me.
"You hardly know anything about me Jake," I said softly.
"I know you're never busy, I know you're really clumsy I know you blush really easily! What more is there?"
"What's my favourite flower? What's my favourite film? What's my favourite food?" I challenged, it didn't escape my notice how he only spoke about him liking things about me, not about how I might feel about him.
"Er... Roses? And we always watch transporter 2 and have a barbecue whenever I come round," and he still insisted he knew me?
"My favourite flowers are fresias, my favourite film is twilight and my favourite food is chicken korma," I corrected him, "Transporter 2 and barbecues are your favourites, just because I never protested doesn't mean I like them quite as much as you do Jake, actually, I don't think anyone likes them quite as much as you do."
He looked like a wounded puppy, but not the cute kind, the pathetic kind. He was going to protest, tell me how much me likes me and that I should give him a chance – I'd heard it all before with Mike. Neither of them stopped to ask me how I felt. But I was tired of hearing it so I cut him off, "Should we just go to the circus now? I'm sorry Jacob, but I don't like you that way, and I totally understand if this makes things awkward and maybe it would be best if we took like a break."
Jake nodded and reluctantly picked up the bag and led the way back to his car. It only took forty-five minutes this time. We ended up getting to the circus quite early, but they had some horses on display and also them cheep, flashing souvenirs that kids always manage to trick their parents into buying somehow. After briefly looking at what was on sale and going to the toilet – I swear, the queue to the ladies in a public place is always ginormous – I went to the horses, they were my favourite animals.
Suddenly I looked up and saw bronze hair that could only belong to one person – I mean, I did nickname him BBHB! He was looking around frantically, like he'd lost someone. He started heading this way and I'm sure he hadn't seen me but I felt as if he was heading straight for me. Then he was right there... and Jake was asking who he was looking for.
"Uh... yeah, she's about waist height, completely evil and answers to the name Bree. You haven't seen her have you? I mean, she was supposed to be with Riley, but she wasn't and now I have no idea where she is!" he said worriedly, barely shooting me a weak smile.
As we were shaking our heads, BBHB's eyes zeroed in on a spot just behind us, "Bree!" he shouted before lunging and grabbing the giggling and squealing five-year-old and squeezing her tightly. I smiled as his head dropped to her shoulder in relief, it was cute. He continued to hold her off the ground and situated her into a more comfortable position as he lingered a little awkwardly. This time, BBHB broke the silence.
"So... you like the horses, huh?" he asked.
"Yeah, I've actually always wanted to be able to ride a horse," I replied, almost forgetting about Jacob.
"Same," Jake supplied while BBHB smiled and nodded before his head snapped to look over his shoulder – the crowd was quite loud so I couldn't discern which shout had caused him to look over his shoulder. He turned back to us – ok, me, "Look, I've really got to go, get Bree back and all..." he trailed off apologetically, before hurrying off while barely succeeding in controlling the squirming child in his clutches.
Jake narrowed his eyes at me, "Does he have something to do with not going out with me?" he asked ominously.
"Oh please, Jake! We're not actually going out, you cant stop me from seeing other people," I snorted, like hell he could tell me what to do!
"You cant be serious, just look at his clothes! He cant even afford his own clothes Bella! Do you really want to spend your life with someone who cant make a decent living?"
"I think you should go buy some popcorn, Jacob," I said icily, he was not, going to stand there and insult BBHB – even if his clothes did seem second... or fourth hand – and he was certainly not going to tell me I couldn't go out with him because he was poor!
Whether or not Jacob knew his mistake, we went to buy popcorn – I couldn't care less whether he knew his mistake or not, I couldn't actually believe he said that! He was so conceited! And full of himself! Seething, I turned back to the horses on display, I wondered if they were all going to be used in the show tonight.
"I couldn't help but notice you admiring the horses," a deep voice came from just over my shoulder, making me jump. Only a little.
I turned round to face him and shrugged nonchalantly, trying to not find the stranger a little creepy – never judge a book by its cover. But the stranger just stepped closer to me – not helping with the creepy vibe I was getting – and said, "You know, I'm actually on one of the horses in the show. I'm actually the sheriff... the one that always win and gets the girl," he smirked cockily at me.
"Well, I've always had a soft spot for the bad guy, I guess," I said while discreetly stepping away from him, closer to the next horse.
"I'm Riley by the way," he said as he held out his hand. I looked at it for a moment before I was saved by Jake coming back and announcing that he had popcorn. I had never been more grateful to see him in my life, so I just led him to the entrance of the big tent so we could get our seats for the show.
The first act on stage was juggling, there were about four people in the ring, all dressed up and doing some pretty impressive stuff. I was completely enjoying myself and starting to forget the drama of earlier that day until I looked closely at one of the jugglers... Oh. My. God! It was BBHB! I really have to find out his name at some point. But there he was, juggling and gracefully playing his part of the act.
The next act he was in was so ironic I was sure there must be someone up there writing this shit. He was the bad guy in the little horsey-western thing they had going on! And again, he was pretty impressive! He could not only ride a horse, but ride a horse while defending himself against Riley... and do some weird horse-back gymnastics type stuff in the saddle like you see in the oriental marshal arts films, where the really good fighters seem to defy the laws of physics. I was completely in awe of him... until he started losing the battle. I bet if that fight wasn't scripted he would win.
In the interval – just after Riley had captured BBHB – he was placed in the stocks where people could pay to throw wet sponges at him. I was slightly horrified – I was probably still a little over-sensitive to that stuff after Jacob's tirade – and slightly dazed – that he was in the circus – but I saw him grin as a little came up and smacked the sponge down on his head, then shake his hair at her and getting her wet. I couldn't help but smirk too – the little git got what she deserved.
He wasn't in very many acts after that and I was kinda disappointed that I wouldn't see so much of him, but then I realised it would be ridiculous if he was in all the acts, I mean, it wasn't as if he didn't need to eat or sleep, was it? But, nevertheless, the sheriff and the bad boy – its not actually supposed to sound dirty, no matter what you people think – did make a few reappearances, which generally involved Edward causing havoc in his cheeky way then the sheriff coming and recapturing him.
I sat there dazed as the circus emptied itself – must my brain abandon me every time I see BBHB! Only the hand of a concerned elderly lady got me to get up. I hurried off to find Jake through the half empty tent and field, I didn't realise how long I had sat there, immersed entirely in my thoughts. Why didn't Jake nudge me or something? Or was he still in a bad mood because I wouldn't go out with him? I think that was probably it.
I eventually made it over to Jake, only to find him grumbling about the muddy state of his car. He was really pissed off and I couldn't be bothered to listen to him. I just told him it was only a car and to take me home. Which he did, reluctantly – he was still probably fantasising about how to get the culprit back. Oh well.
