this fic can be read on its own, but it's tied to my other fic i'm working on at the moment called "Don't Ask Me"
read and review, this is a ONESHOT but another story about jake and vincent might be written to go along with Don't Ask Me.
this takes place some time in new moon. not sure when.
"I still don't get why we're here."
"Easy," Bella said as she sat in the cushioned seat. She looked at the small table next to her. The table was covered in needles, hoops, studs, pieces of plastic and a small book entitled How To Care For Your New Piercing. "I'm getting my nose and lip pierced."
"No, it's not that, I don't get why you're getting pierced." Jake had his arms crossed in front of him. He was completely against her getting pierced, but refused to let her come on her own. "You know that Charlie will kill you, right?"
"I'm eighteen. I can get pierced if I want."
The piercer came over then, putting on a pair of purple plastic cloves. "If you're eighteen, he can kick you out of the house. Are you sure you want that?"
"He won't," Bella said with less confidence than she meant to put into her words. "Besides, I'll just live with Jake if he does."
"Really? So you think I'll just automatically let you live with me?"
Bella looked at him. He was so tall. He never seemed to stop growing these days. Since he became one of the Wolves, he seemed to shoot up in height. He wasn't looking at her. "So you'd just make me live on the street?"
Then, he did look at her. She watched as his face went from stern to indecisive to disappointment. He sighed. "Yea, probably." He paused. "But if you move in, you're sleeping on the couch!"
"If you say so." Bella was fairly sure he'd never make her sleep on the couch, but she'd let him think he would for now. "I really don't think he'd kick me out, but whatever."
The piercer sat on the stool next to Bella's chair. "Are you ready for this?"
Bella watched as he opened the plastic wrapping of a needle. She imagined the voice of an angel, her angel, telling her not to d this. She always seemed to imagine best when she was doing something stupid or reckless or dangerous. Only when he pulled out the needle did she her mind create the voice belonging to no one present in the room.
"Bella, don't do this."
She knew it was her imagination. She'd heard that angelic voice a few times before since he left, but it still made her heart sing at the sound of it. No matter how many times she'd imagined him scolding her, she never listened to him.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"No, Bella. This is stupid."
"Last chance to back out, Bells." Jacob was chewing on his cheek. "Even if you end up taking it out, there will still be a mark."
"I know. I want this, okay, Jake?"
"No you don't, Bella. Please don't. what will Charlie say?"
Bella continued to ignore the voice.
The piercer took out something that looked like scissors, but had two circles on the ends, and set them on the table.
Bella's heart skipped a beat. "Since when have you been into peircings?"
Bella ignored the voice as much as she could.
The piercer drew a dot in the middle of her bottom lip. "Here look good?"
He held up a mirror for her to see.
"No, it doesn't look good. It wouldn't look good anywhere."
Bella was beginning to get annoyed at the voice. "A little higher."
The piercer rubbed away the mark and re-drew it, closer to her lip. "How about now?"
"No. It looks awful."
"That's perfect."
The piercer took out a cotton swab and began to spread a cold liquid over her lip.
Bella felt an icy hand encircle her wrist. She looked down, but nothing was there. "Please, Bella, I don't want you to go through any pain. Please, don't do it. For me."
I'm doing this for you. Can't you see that? she wanted to say. She turned her hand upwards and felt it fill with an icy cold hand. It sent shivers up her spine.
"Sorry about the cold," the piercer said. He was switching his gloves for a new pair. "We use it to keep the area clean so you don't get an infection."
Bella nodded. "I figured it was something like that."
Jake came to kneel next to Bella. He took her hand, the one that wasn't being held by her imagination. "You don't have to do this, at least not right now. Think about how hard it will be getting a job."
"I don't really care about that. If it gets too hard to get a job, I'll take it out."
"Listen to Jake. Don't do this."
"Besides, any job that discriminates based on appearance is not a job I want to have."
The piercer came back, holding the circle-scissor thing. "Open your mouth." She did as he asked. She felt the circles clamp onto her lip. "Now, you're going to feel a pinch. Just lease hold as still as you can."
"Bella, please don't do this!"
Bella closed her eyes, reveling in the angelic voice.
"Breathe when I say to breathe, okay?" Bella wanted to nod, but she remembered the command earlier not to move. She squeezed Jacob's hand and the empty hand. It didn't close, even though Bella knew it was empty. Both Jacob and her imagination squeezed back. "Inhale." she did. "Exhale." As she let her breath out, she felt a pinch in her lip right at the center. She squeezed both of her hands harder.
"Oh, Bella, why are you doing this to yourself?"
She felt a tug on her lip and felt gloves hands move against her mouth and nose.
She opened her eyes as the circle-scissor things lit go of her lip. "There," said the piercer. "One down, one to go."
Bella felt the piercing with her tongue. A hoop came out of her lip and out of her mouth. She smiled.
Jacob was squeezing her hand, staring at her mouth.
The piercer changed his gloves again. "Now, are you ready for your nose? Or do you want to come back a different day?"
"Please, Bella, at least wait for the second piercing."
"I'm fine. Let's do it today." Bella kept fiddling with the hoop on her lip. It was so strange, thinking that that piece of metal was actually going through her…
"Okay, so the natural curve that is on the nose here," Bella felt a gloved finger on her nose. She looked in the mirror again to see that he was talking about. "That's where the piercing goes, right in the center. Does that look like a good place?"
"No, it doesn't. It looks better in the trash."
"That looks fine."
"Alright. Here we go." The piercer grabbed another packaged needle from the table and opened it. Bella squeezed her hands.
"Bella…" the voice sounded like it was in pain. Bella hated herself for imagining the owner of the voice in pain.
She closed her eyes. She felt gloved hands on her nose again, this time pulling a little on her nostril.
"You know the drill. Inhale." Bella took in a breath and squeezed around Jacob's hand and the icy hand she knew wasn't there. "Exhale." Bella let out the breath and felt the same pinch as earlier, but this time in her nose. Tears sprang into her eyes.
"Bells!"
She opened her eyes and looked at the purple gloved hands in front of her. One was holding the needle, one was holding a metal rod. She felt a tug on the needle and watched as the needle was pulled out and replaced by whatever was on the end of the rod. On the inside of her nose, she felt a slight tickling. As soon as the hands moved away, Jacob was leaning over her, worry written all over his face.
Bella felt her hand close around nothing as the thought of the icy hand left. She felt a shuddering breath fill her.
"Bells, are you alright?"
"Everyone cries when they get their nose pierced. The tear ducts are connected to the nose."
Bella stood from the chair, ducking around Jacob to do so. "I'm f-fine."
Jacob saw that she was trembling, but let her walk a few steps on her own before walking to catch up to her.
"Before you go," the piercer was walking towards them, holding the book that was on the table. "Here you go. And," he walked to the shelf next to the register, "Some H2Ocean. Just follow what the book says to do and you'll be fine."
Jacob took the items from his hands. "Thanks. She already paid, right?"
"Yep. It's all taken care of. Good luck with her dad."
"Sure, sure." Jake walked out of the piercing shop and out to his car. He looked at Bella. "You alright?"
"Yea, I'm fine. I just wanna go home."
Jacob unlocked the doors and let her in. they drove out of Port Angeles and back to Forks in silence.