N Disclaimer: Psht, yeah, like I own the Twilight series. Trust me, if I did, I wouldn't be posting my stuff on here. Anyway, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer, I'm just borrowing the characters. No copyright infringement is intended.
I heard the familiar sound of the old Chevy pickup truck that my dad had once owned, and my heart skipped a beat. That thing was so loud, I would have recognized it from five miles away. And yet Billy wondered why I refused to drive that it. That, and the fact that I would probably be pulled over for driving to slowly on a highway. I much preferred the Rabbit, which, granted, couldn't be driven yet, but that was gonna change soon. It was almost done.
I peeked out the window just to be sure I wasn't imagining things, astonished that she would be coming here. Bella Swan hadn't shown up around the house recently- according to Billy, she didn't go anywhere anymore, except work and school. The Cullens leaving had really shaken her up. Charlie had mentioned to Billy that Bella wasn't doing any better. I remembered hearing something about when Sam Uley found her in the woods by her house… She had been really freaked out. Billy said she was just about comatose for the first week or so. A part of me- and a huge part, at that- was furious with Edward Cullen for tearing her apart like that, for leaving so suddenly. Bella was the sweetest person I had ever met; she deserved so much better than that.
I got up very quickly and, with no regard for the fact that it was pouring down rain (I was too used to it). I ran out joyfully and met her halfway to the house, grinning from ear to ear.
I was shocked when I got close enough to really look at her. She hardly looked like Bella Swan—she hardly looked alive. She looked like she had lost a little weight, which was noticeable enough considering how slim she was. She looked almost skeletal. But the most noticeable thing about her was her eyes: they were lifeless. Around her eyes were dark circles, as though she hadn't slept for months. She was even paler than I remembered her. It was scary. I tried not to show any sign of this on my face, although the anger resurfaced and I had to swallow it down. Damn Edward Cullen.
I could see she was looking me up and down, noticing how much I had grown in the few months that she had not seen me. I had certainly grown taller, and had better muscles. I tried not to smirk, or be happy that she was checking me out. It didn't mean anything, really. I could see how surprised she was.
"You grew again," she said, sounding astonished. Even her voice was off—it sounded slightly monotonous, as if she was used to giving automatic answers. I was proud that she had noticed though; the fact that I had grown made me feel older, an important thing since I was two years younger than she was.
I led her inside, calling to my dad as I went. When he saw Bella, he looked as surprised as I had, although I could see that he was pleased. He looked curious, too, although he obviously had the brains not to say anything about the Cullens in front of Bella.
"What brings you out here? Everything okay with Charlie?" Billy asked.
"Yes, absolutely. I just wanted to see Jacob—I haven't seen him in forever." Oh yeah, my heart definitely jumped at that. She wanted to see me. I tried not to let my glee show on my face. Wouldn't want to scare her off already.
I could obviously tell that Billy was happy with this too—I knew perfectly well that he worried about Bella too, although I was pretty sure that he was excited that Bella and I would be spending time together. Billy very plainly wanted Bella and I together—THAT way. Not that I didn't want that myself; I had liked Bella since I "re-met" her on First Beach last year. But I had the feeling I was going to have to take things a little slower with her. If all she needed was a friend for now, then that's what I would be.
"So, Bella, what do you want to do?" I asked, wondering what on earth I had to do here that she would want to do. My place was fine—if you were a guy. Other than that, I supposed we could watch T.V, but Bella didn't seem like the "Simpsons" type.
"Whatever. What were you doing before I interrupted?" she asked.
I hesitated a bit, fairly certain that she wouldn't want to come out to work on the Rabbit with me. I had planned on getting some more work done on it, but I certainly wanted to spend time with Bella a lot more. Needless to say, I was surprised when she said she wanted to see it. I wasn't entirely convinced, but hey, if that's what the lady wanted. I led her out to the garage, out to my pride and joy.
"What kind of Volkswagen is that?" She asked. I tried to keep the pride out of my voice.
"It's an old Rabbit—1986, a classic."
"How's it going?" She seemed at least mildly interested.
"Almost finished." Then I remembered WHY it was almost finished. "My dad made good on his promise last spring." I was right in thinking that it wasn't a subject to discuss with her; although she obviously tried not to show it, it hurt her to think about him. It looked as if she was physically trying to hold herself together with her arms, wrapped around her chest that way. I felt angry at Cullen again, and again tried hard not to show it.
"Jacob, what do you know about motorcycles?" She asked. I had the feeling that now we were coming around to the reason she had wanted to see me in the first place. I was a little surprised—motorcycles? Didn't seem like the kind of thing she would be interested in. I shrugged and told her about Embry's dirt boke, which he thinks he's so special for owning.
"Well, I recently acquired a couple of bikes, and they're not in the greatest condition. I wonder if you can get them running?" As she spoke, I started to grin. A challenge. Excellent. She seemed a little concerned that I would mention it to Billy, but I knew Charlie well enough to know that he would freak out if he found out that his only daughter owned a motorcycle. Sheesh… cops.
"Wait a sec—are you legal yet?" Bella asked. Not that it would have stopped me anyway. I tried hard to keep my tone playful, so she didn't think I was upset.
"You missed it. I'm sixteen."
I picked on her a bit then, asking if she had just turned forty. It wasn't far from the truth. She acted so mature, like a parent. So middle aged for being eighteen. I wonder how often she did things like buy motorcycles, risky things that she knew she shouldn't do but she did anyway. Like any NORMAL teen would. She apologized about missing my birthday though. Like what she was going through was less important than turning sixteen. Same thing would happen next year.
"We'll have to have a joint party to make up for it," I said, referring our birthdays.
"Sounds like a date." No, my heart did NOT go pitter-patter when she said that… Nope nope nope….
She mentioned that she had the bikes with her in her rusty old pickup, and I quickly got them down from the truck bed, trying to show off my strength a little bit. (Okay, a lot.) I appraised them as I lifted them, noticing that she had managed to get her hands on a Harley Sprint—not that she knew that, of course. Girls were a little clueless sometimes when it came to vehicles. I told her it was worth something, trying not to be too interested. Her bike, not mine, and anyway… all I wanted at the moment was her company. Nothing could compare to that.
"That one's yours, then," she said, indicating the Harley.
"Are you sure?" I asked her, trying not to sound excited. I had wanted a bike for a little while.
"Absolutely."
She offered to pay for the parts, which I was a little uncertain of; they would cost some money, and I didn't want her going broke. Maybe if I chipped in, it would be a little better. She mentioned her college fund then, though, and the way she said it, it didn't sound like she was planning on spending any of that money on tuition for school. Hey, if she didn't want to go gain more knowledge, that was fine by me. Her prerogative.
As soon as we got back to the garage, I started pulling the red Honda apart, talking as I worked. I told her about my idiotic Math teacher and how much I hated English, and about Quil and Embry. I smiled a little when she mentioned how odd their names were; I remembered doing the same thing, until they teamed up and knocked me around. Suddenly, I heard a very familiar voice. Damn.
Quil and Embry came around the corner to the shed, and I could tell right away that they both liked Bella as soon as they saw her. I tried hard not to get jealous; Bella hadn't even spoken to them yet, and I was already overreacting. Still, perfect timing…
Quil was ready to jump right in with the introductions, while Embry, as was typical with him around females, was a little more shy and withdrawn. He and Quil were total opposites sometimes. I had yet to see Quil act shyly around a girl.
I explained to them that Bella and I were fixing up bikes, and they jumped right in. They liked motorcycles about as much as I did. We chatted about the bikes for a bit, and until she got up from the passenger side of the Rabbit I had almost forgotten that Bella was still there. I immediately felt bad.
"We're boring you, aren't we?" I hoped she wasn't upset.
"Naw, I just have to go cook dinner for Charlie." I was ecstatic when I realized that she was actually having FUN. She liked being here. "Could I come back tomorrow?" My heart jumped a bit at this. YES! She wants to see me!
"That would be great!" I ignored my so- called "friends" as they exchanged glances, obviously making plans to be here tomorrow to see Bella again.
Bella suggested shopping for parts tomorrow, which I would have suggested anyway, but I still wasn't sure I should let her pay for everything. Of course, she argued. As different as she was in appearance and the way she carried herself now, she was still incredibly stubborn. I had to admit though, I was the cheapest mechanic around.
"Not to mention the riding lessons," she put in.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Quil give Embry a look and whisper, "I'm sure he'd be more than willing to give her a ride." I smacked him in the back of the head, irritated. What if Bella heard? The last thing I needed was for her to take off now, after she had finally come to see me. "That's it, get out," I half-growled at him. Bella protested at this, insisting that she had to leave.
"I'll see you tomorrow Jacob," she said, walking back up towards the truck. I watched her go, a little sad. I would see her tomorrow though.
No sooner was she out of range than me moronic "best friends" both whistled rather loudly. I was up from my spot on the ground in a flash, smacking them both upside the head simultaneously.
"If either one of you set so much as one toe on my land tomorrow. . . " I threatened, not needing to finish. They knew I meant business.
"Alright Jake, calm down, man," Embry said, raising his hands in front of his chest in a gesture of surrender. I sat back down, getting back to work.
"Geez . . . never seen him get so worked up over some chick," I heard Quil mutter softly, half joking. I threw him a glare anyway. He shrugged at me, smiling apologetically. We worked for a bit more, almost in silence, until Quil had to go home. Embry decided to go with him to his house for a bit. By that point, it was getting dark anyway, so I headed back inside.
Later that night, I plopped down onto my bed in my bedroom, which was no bigger than your average closet (good thing I wasn't much of a pack rat). I folded my hands behind my head and stared up at the ceiling. I wasn't much for pondering, but man, was today hectic. I really hoped that I saw Bella more often—sounded like I would. The thought of that seemed to warm my insides.
Damn. Come on Jake, don't start getting sappy now.
I really hoped that by hanging out with Bella more often, I could help her. I couldn't believe the way she looked now—it was like she had never felt happiness before. If I could help it, that was going to change.