Hi! I began writing this fiction 3 years ago, but recently I came across it again, having quite forgotten about it. I apologise to those of you who have wanted more and for dropping off the face of the planet, and reading the comments, I found myself yearning to continue this story, if not for myself but for you. When I left this story, I was at a stage in my life where I needed to focus on my studies, but summer is here and I'm (relatively) free as a bird. So here goes. I'll be redoing the chapters I've already written and continuing the story. Hopefully, those of you who read along in 2013 are still with me (I don't blame you if you aren't).

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns the characters and the twilight series and anything that is recognizably not mine.

Chapter 1: The Call

Bella's breath sped up as her eyes locked with those of her best friend. This was not happening. After the hints she had dropped about not being ready, about wanting to remain friends, he was still trying. He was persistent; she would give him that, and that only.

It wasn't that she didn't like Jacob. In any other situation, they'd probably have been together. He was funny. He was kind. He made her feel special. But there had always been an obstacle.

Edward.

The vampire who had swept her off her feet and broken her heart lingered in the back of her mind, ever-present. Whenever they'd get close or hug or hold hands she'd see him, a look of disgust and pain twisting his chiseled features, and she'd retract back into herself, away from the intimate advances of her best friend.

Bella closed her eyes, mentally preparing the words that she would use to delicately reject her best friend.

Rejection. It was such a harsh word, but that was essentially what she had to do, wasn't it? She couldn't lead him on, not when she was still in love with Edward.

There was a beat after she thought it where she froze in disbelief, replaying her thoughts through to make sure she wasn't mistaken. For the first time in months she'd thought his name.

Edward.

Edward. Edward. Edward.

She tried it a few more times, repeating his name determinedly. She waited. Nothing. Her body's customary response to his name did not come. There was no searing pain in her chest, as if she had been burned with a hot poker. There was no tear as waited for her heart to rip open. Instead, she felt… nothing. Ambivalent.

Edward? Edward who? Oh, right, Edward my ex. Sad? No. We weren't that serious. Do I Love him? As if!

So absorbed in her own jubilation, Bella had somewhat forgotten about the fact that there was a beautiful werewolf standing just beyond her eyelids, holding her hand in his like a lifeline.

"Bells?" His deep gravelly voice and the soft caress of his hand across her cheek roused her from her thoughts. She took a moment to drink in the sight before her. His face, and his body in general, had grown so much, distancing the man in front of her from the small boy she used to make mud cakes with as a child. His cheekbones had become more prominent and his face had lost the chubbiness of youth, leaving behind a defined jawline and a strong, muscled neck. Though his exterior of muscle could have been intimidating, the way he looked at her through his brown eyes softened his whole demeanour, reminding her of all the times he had been there to comfort her, like a security blanket; a beautiful, muscly security blanket.

"Jake." She acknowledged.

Her Jacob.

But he wasn't hers. He was his own, and it was unfair for her to assume otherwise.

But he could be yours.

The small thought lingered, and the more Bella fixated upon it, the more she realized she wanted it. She wanted for Jacob Black to be hers, and for her to be his.

She wasn't sure who initiated it, but they were leaning forward, into each other, their eyes locked in a silent exchange, conversing in a muddle of emotions that Bella couldn't quite decipher. Not that it quite mattered. She'd made up her mind. She'd chosen Jacob Black.

Time seemed to slow, toying with them as their lips moved to meet, tantalizingly close, yet too far.

His lips were perfect. Not in the same, chiseled way that Edward's had been, like a god carved of marble, but in the full, slightly wonky way that made her like them even more. They were unique and interesting and they were just… Jacob.

The shrill ring of a phone interrupted what Bella was sure would've been a pretty great kiss.

Damn.

Bella mentally ran a check as to who could be calling, but came up blank. Charlie was at the funeral, and Jacob was there. She highly doubted that it was Jessica, or Mike, whose attentions had fizzled after their disastrous movie outing.

Two arms shot out for the phone, both parties having had a similar thought: the quicker the phone was answered, the sooner they could go back to… what they had been doing before.

It was Bella who got to the phone first, surprising both Jacob and herself.

Wow, where'd I get reflexes?

"Hello? Swan residence?" She answered the phone, uncertain of what to say and trying hard to keep the frustration from her voice. It had not, after all been the intention of the caller to interrupt her kiss, she didn't think.

"Bella?"

Bella froze at the sound of the voice she had been trying so desperately to simultaneously forget and hear again for the past few months. Had this happened a week ago, she probably would have leapt for joy at the sign that he hadn't forgotten her. Now, however, all she could bring herself to feel was resentment.

Emboldened by the absence of pain in her chest that until recently had become the norm for her, Bella replied.

"Edward?" She felt Jacob stiffen beside her, and she couldn't bring herself to blame him. This was the man who had left her alone in the woods. This was the man who had left her comatose for months, neglecting to contact her with even a not to indicate he even remembered who she was. This was the man that Jacob's very nature told him to hate.

"Why did you call?" She asked indignantly when she received no response. But it was too late. He had hung up.

Bella felt a rage build up inside her, like a pot of water being slowly brought to boil. He had no right to call after months of radio silence. He had no right to try and insert himself back into her life as she began to move on. He had no right…

Bella caught herself, noting absently that it was unlike her to have such an easily ignited temper. She was over him, as evidenced by her newly discovered, in not newly acquired, feelings for Jacob.

At the thought of the werewolf, she turned away from the phone to look at him, smiling lightly as she took in his appearance for the second time that night. With a slight pang, she noticed the creases that marred his normally smooth forehead. On a whim, she reached out and touched them; trying to iron the creases out with the caress of her thumb as her other had cupped his cheek, bringing him down towards her mouth.

Before their lips met, however, Bella found herself letting out a small giggle, surprising Jacob, who had previously had his eyes closed in anticipation, who raised his eyebrows in disbelief at her.

"Bells, you okay?" He asked, his voice laced with concern as he watched the girl he'd been in love with since he could remember. He was sure the events of the day had gotten to her, what with the whole jumping off a cliff thing, her bloodsucker friend turning up and their almost-kiss.

Bella nodded, unable to quell the rush of happiness she felt as her giggles continued to bubble up from her stomach. She felt free.

Jacob, however, still looked concerned.

Catching her breath, Bella extended her arms to capture Jacob's head between her hands, guiding his face closer to hers so that she could look him in the eye.

"I'm just happy. I'm happy to be here, with you. I'm happy that he's out of my life."

Jacob's face brightened as she explained. She was over him? They had a chance.

He grinned at her, an infectious grin that she couldn't help but return.

Before she knew what was happening, Jacob had his arms around her, one on her waist, upping their bodies together. His other hand laced itself into her soft brown hair, pulling her lips up to his.

They met in a collision of passion, their mouths speaking a language that only they could understand.

As they broke apart, both breathing heavily, their eyes locked once again, and Bella found herself admiring the way his chocolate eyes shone as he looked at her. Brown was her new favourite colour.

"Aw shit."

Jacob, who had just glimpsed the digital clock that blinked innocently from the microwave, interrupted their moment of closeness.

"Sorry Bells, but I've got to go get my dad from the funeral. I'm already late as it is."

Bella smiled and nodded in response, apologising as she watched him leave the kitchen, admiring how the muscles of his back rippled from under his shirt.

Reaching the doorway, he turned to smile at her.

"Don't worry about it, Bells," he reassured, turning and walking out.

"It was worth it," She heard him mumble from the hallway, and for some reason she got the feeling she wasn't meant to have heard that.

Sleeping that night was hard. No longer did she yearn to wake to find Edward watching her breathe peacefully in fascination, but thoughts of a new, different boy that held her affections toyed with her thoughts, not letting them rest and making sleep impossible.

Maybe it was because these feelings were new. Maybe it was because she had known him for so long, only now seeing him in this new light. Whatever it was, Bella was convinced that it was not what she had felt with Edward the first time they had met. Edward had scared and intrigued her. Jacob comforted and excited her. She had wanted to be like Edward. She wanted to be with Jacob.

There. That was the difference. All of the time she had spent with Edward, she had lusted after his immortality, and the lifestyle he had. She had been entranced by the comfort she found within his family. She yearned to share her life with them, not necessarily with him. With Jake, it was different. They had a strong foundation that came from years of friendship. She knew what he liked and what he didn't. She knew his favourite colour and his dreams for the future. She liked spending time with him, regardless of where they were or whom they were with.

With a happy sigh, Bella found herself drifting off, allowing herself to fall into dreams of a future with a werewolf.