Of Losses and Gains Chapter 1, a twilight fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the characters there in….as much as I would love to own Jacob….I sadly cannot. He owns himself and Stephenie Mayer owns the books. Partial author rights of this fanfiction go to MissGlycerine.

Of Losses and Gains

Chapter One

Jacob felt the tears rush down his russet cheeks as he stared at the bloody massacre before him. His whole body shook violently. He stared across Bella's bloody body to the bloodsucker who stood there. Edward Cullen, the statuesque man that Bella had fallen for. Jacob knew he was the reason for the girls death. Both Jacob and Edward had arrived at the scene at the same time, though Jacob had already placed the blame upon the auburn haired leech. "You..." The wolf growled out.

Edward stood motionless, in disbelief. The one woman he loved was taken away from him so easily, her fragile form laying in a crumpled disarray. He felt an enormous surge of anger flow throughout his entire body. Turning to the Wolf, his face twisted into a menacing snarl.

Jacob felt himself begin to phase. Not ten seconds later, a large russet wolf stood, ready to fight, before the vampire. The fur under its black eyes was damp from tears. His mind spoke loudly to the vampire before him, "I. Will. Kill. You.....Because of you....Bella is gone..." His teeth bore hard, nearly cracking under the pressure of themselves from his anger.

Edward stared back at Jacob, the anger he felt multiplying. He knew that it was as much his fault as it was the Wolf's, but at the moment he desperately needed a distraction. And a fight with a werewolf seemed to be perfect. Whether or not he killed the other, or was killed by him, he would win. He didn't actually intend to live through the next coming week anyway. "My fault?" Edward breathed. "And what about you? You're just as guilty as I!" The vampire lunged forward in sorrow and fury, his granite body colliding with Jacob's.

Jacob was forced back and to the ground from the power of the blow. He growled viciously and swung his head catching one of Edward's forearms between his jaws and clamped down with all of his might. He could taste the metallic bitterness from the leech's blood. "Yes, your fault. No bloodsucking bastard ever came after her until you and your family showed up around her. If you would have just left her alone! She would have been with me. She would have been SAFE....your fault..." He growled again.

Edward let out a pained yell, and punched Jacob away. His arm was bleeding, but he didn't care. He lunged again, sinking his teeth into Jacob's neck.

He let his mouth open and shut, the bones in his jaw cracking from the force of the blow. He growled again and roared as he ripped his neck from the jaws of the bloodsucker. Jumping back, he glared at the vampire. Finally, he collapsed. He couldn't fight any more. The grief overtook him as he howled.

Edward backed from the young werewolf, leaning against a nearby wall. His brow furrowed in sorrow and frustration with himself. This wasn't the time to be fighting with a dog. He should be grieving the loss of his beloved Bella.

Jacob phased back, slowly putting his spare shorts back on. He plopped down on the opposite wall. "How could this happen...." He questioned. "I thought I was keeping a good eye on her...." He picked up the small charm bracelet he had made Bella up from a puddle of blood. He clutched it tightly in his palm, his nails digging into his skin.

Edward glanced up at Jacob with eyes full of grief. "You were," he said. "I should have been paying more attention...I should have...followed her..." He banged his fist into the wall, leaving a cracking indention.

"She wanted you....to turn her. So she wouldn't be a fragile human any more...." Jacob said. What were they doing....Were they trying to make each other feel better? Were they really being support for each other? A vampire....and a werewolf.... 'Impossible' Jacob thought. He sniffled as tears began to run down his face again.

Frowning, Edward slowly got up, walking toward Jacob. "I couldn't," he said, softly. "I wanted her to remain pure. To keep her humanity. Her soul. But, I was only being selfish..." He held out his hand to help Jacob up. He couldn't believe he was doing this. Trying to free a dog from guilt? He convinced himself that Bella wouldn't want Jacob to feel guilty. He was like a brother to her. But what about himself? He was her love. Surely the guilt he felt for not protecting her was well deserved.

Jacob cautiously took Edward's hand, the blood his nails had released from his palm slicked between their hands as he gripped Edward's stone hand. Jacob stood to his feet, towering over the other boy. He removed his hand from Edward's after a long pause and the loss of touch left his hand tingling. He started at the bloodsucker, "So ....what now? Assisted suicides?" He chuckled lightly though he really did consider it.

Edward stared back at the young wolf, his golden eyes meeting with Jacob's dark ones. Suicide didn't sound like a bad idea to him at this point. "Bella wouldn't like that, I think," he sighed. "You live. I'm going to Italy..." He turned to the door silently and strode towards it.

Jacob put his heavy hand on Edward's arm keeping him from continuing further out of the building. "Bella told me about Italy...and made me promise to never let you do that again.... My promises to Bella...I never break. You will have to find another way to go," He said coming to walk beside Edward.

Jake crinkled his nose and looked at Edward, scooting away a bit, "You stink."

A small uncontrolled smile emerged on Edward's statue like features. "You're telling me I stink?" he poked at Jacob as he scooted away. "You're the one that smells like a sweaty dog." He laughed shortly, then nodded. "You're right. I can't. But, I'll think of something, even if it means annoying you to the point that you gnaw my head off."

Jacob chuckled and elbowed Edward almost playfully. "I'm sure that won't be hard," he said. "And yes...you smell horrid." He actually laughed lightly. Had Bella gone completely forgotten? Or was this their way of coping? Jacob sighed and propped his arm on Edward's shoulder...."And your short too..." He laughed.

Edward glared weakly at Jacob, who used him as a prop. "You mean, you are freakishly tall," he corrected.

Jacob sighed as he propped the front door open to his cozy home. Billy sat in front of the television staring blankly at the screen. "Can't believe she is gone......and by the hands of a vampire...." Billy commented.

"Can we not talk about this?" Jacob questioned, feeling the lump return to his throat.

"Charlie is bringing Bella's two closest companions with him......two Cullen's that is." Billy stated still not looking away from the screen.

"Yeah, I know. Her lover vamp....and the creepy little monstrosity that can see the future...except ours." Jacob replied.

There was a knock upon the door, and Charlie let himself in, greeting Jacob in the doorway. "Billy," he called, then saw this old friend watching TV in the corner. He walked over to greet him, then turned to introduce the figure standing just inside the door frame. "Billy, this is Edward Cullen..." he said. Edward waved his hand shortly, trying to block out the hostile thoughts Billy was thinking. He glanced beside him, toward Jacob, and nodded formally.

Jacob nodded back to the vampire. It was odd seeing him there. "Why don't you boy's go on outside…" Charlie said as he sat beside Billy. Jacob nodded and signaled for Edward to follow him. He walked out of the house, passed the porch, and headed towards the beach area. He kept a sharp sense open for a werewolves' thoughts so that the Cullen boy didn't get ambushed on this one single occasion…next time however, Edward was on his own. "It's strange…seeing a Cullen here on the res." Jacob commented finally after the silence.

Edward followed Jacob to the beach, his footsteps graceful and silent. He stared out to the sea, his thoughts far away. "Yea," he answered, smiling at the wolf, shortly. "It's weird being here. Is this where...you and Bella liked to talk?"

Jacob sat down on the log he and Bella did often sit on and chat the days away. "Yeah, the exact spot…." He offered the seat next to him to the other though he did keep his distance. He didn't really have a problem with Edward any more….But didn't change the fact that he smelt horrible.

Jacob jumped a bit. "Woah, she wasn't kidding. Your eyes are as black as pitch. You need to eat man," Jacob couldn't stop the disgusted thoughts about the other's eating habits from raging through his mind though he also thought to himself, 'one must do what need be done to survive.' In an act of kindness, Jacob dashed off and returned dropping a rabbit, neck broken, into Edward's lap. He looked away almost as if he were embarrassed. He stared at the raging waves to distract himself, and he knew Edward could read his mind. He smirked and thought over and over again, 'damn those waves are loud…waves waves waves waves."

Edward stared at the dead rabbit for a moment, hearing the thoughts from Jacob. He bit into the rabbits neck, and drank the blood quickly, and discarding the carcass in the woods behind them. "Waves?" Edward asked, amused at Jacob's attempt at keeping him locked out. He sat back down and dabbed at his mouth with a handkerchief, making sure there were no remnants of his lunch on his face.

"Yeah beautiful aren't they?" Jacob said with a goofy grin as he turned back around to look at Edward. 'Wow,' Jacob thought caught off guard. 'His eyes are…..amazing…Okay gay moment. Shut up Jake!!!' He screamed at himself in his head temporarily forgetting the vampire could hear it all. He let his mind trail to the dead rabbit. What was done was done. Poor little critter. He ran his large hand through his black hair and sighed. He was trying his hardest not to think of Bella, for both of their sakes.

Edward smiled to himself, listening to Jacob's "gay moment". Did he really think his eyes were amazing? That was just too weird, even for a werewolf, which were pretty foreign to him. He fought with the idea of mentioning it, but decided not to. He didn't want Jacob to get angry and decide that he was unwelcome here. That would only break the treaty and endanger his family. "How have you been doing?" Edward asked, trying to distract himself from the others thoughts.

Jacob dug his claws into the bark of the tree. He growled softly. "The one....who .....did that to Bella....was caught..." He said more angry about that than anything. "The cops caught him.." He turned his angered gaze to Edward so he would know just how he felt without having to delve into his mind. "He wasn't a vampire. HELL! He wasn't even a werewolf! Just a psycho!" He bared his hands ripping off a portion of the tree.

Edward met Jacob's stare and felt the intensity in it immediately. He shook his head in disbelief. A human? Someone just as fragile as she was killed her? It didn't seem feasible to him at all. They were supposed to be the monsters of the world. Edward leaped up from his seat and punched the tree that Jacob was clawing at, splintering it. "A human...did that to her?" he seethed.

Jacob growled. "Yes. A human. I, from here on out, swear off of 'em. Maybe girls too. They cause nothing but trouble," Jacob laughed lightly. He had mainly said it to break the horrible atmosphere that was forming.

Edward smiled a little at Jacob's attempt to make them both feel a bit better. "So," Edward started, pulling his fist from the now hollow tree. "You're going gay, then?" He sat back down on the log and watched the werewolf's reaction with amusement. "Not that there is anything wrong with being gay," he added with a small smirk.

"So what if I am?" Jake asked raising an eyebrow. "No girl I like every likes me back….though I have actually only really liked Bella. Plus, the guys are a LOT easier to get along with," the teen wolf said with a hearty laugh to follow it. He didn't know why… but it was actually relatively easy to talk to the vampire. He found himself laughing with him as he had with Bella. He would act like this with the other wolves but all of those boys seemed like they have a pine cone wedged in their asses.

Edward snickered hearing the thought a bit and his smile widened. "So, how do you think your pack will react once they see this in your mind?" he asked, curious. He patted the log, offering him a seat next to him. He found it very comforting to listen to Jacob's teenage dramas. It was a change of pace, and a good distraction from their sorrows.

Jacob laughed. "All I have to do is picture you naked to send them running," he said with a shiver to emphasize it as he pictured it and quickly beat it away from his mind before the vampire could see it in his head. He also felt a strange thought coming on….The thought that he was badgering into the deepest depths of his mind in which never to let it resurface….didn't really bother him. 'WAVES WAVES WAVES WAVES WAVES!!!' He began yelling in his mind to cover the thought.

The vampire shifted in his seat and pulled one knee to his chest, leaning his chin on it. "You know," he began, seriousness soaking his tone. "You should do whatever makes you happy. You only get one life, live it the way you want. No matter what your father or your pack think." He was being a little broody, and he knew it. If he had the choice when he was human, how would he have turned out? Would he have been caught up in little dramas of everyday life? Edward probably wouldn't have liked them much then, but right now, they seemed like a dream to him. Anything would be better than this eternal suffering.

"Are you…..trying to tell me you want me to be gay?" Jacob asked raising a curious eyebrow. He saw how the vampire was hurting and actually felt bad for him. Edward had actually tried to help him when he was feeling down so he supposed it was his turn. He thought for a moment. What did he do when Bella was upset…. He held his breath a bit so that he couldn't smell and wrapped his large arms around the smaller male. It felt weird. Almost as if Edward, with the temperature he was at, was going to melt under Jake's hot embrace.

Edward froze. He wasn't anticipating a hug from the teen. At first, he didn't know what to do. He sat there, wondering what brought on the action, but upon reading Jake's mind he felt relief in the fact that he was trying to comfort him. Slowly, and deliberately, he wrapped his cold arms around the dark skinned Quilette. "Thanks," Edward whispered, his voice barely audible.

Jacob smirked as he pulled away from the other boy. He was surprised about how strong Edward actually was. He sniffed the air for a moment before his nose crinkled. "No offense….but I stink like you…." He laughed. "Come on, the elderly are probably getting nervous. Billy probably thinks we killed each other," He said as he continued to laugh. "We should….um…do this again sometime," Jacob said a bit unsure of himself.

Edward stood, smiling. "You think that would be alright?" he asked. The last thing he wanted was to start trouble. Edward started walking with him towards the small house, tucking his pale hands deep into his pants pockets. "Wouldn't that upset your pack?"

"Aren't you the one that told me to do what I wanted no matter what the pack thinks?" Jacob asked the vampire. Suddenly, the hairs on Jacob's arms rose to their full length. He practically felt the others breathing down his neck. He turned to face the 3 very large wolves.

"What are you doing here?" Sam, the larger wolf growled out.

"Billy and I invited him," Jacob replied instinctively stepping in front of Edward slightly.

"What? Why?" Embry questioned though the question was evident in all their faces.

"Does it matter? He isn't doing anything wrong…" Jacob growled. He was protecting a vampire….from his brother wolves… Had he actually befriended the 'enemy'? He didn't care.

"We will be watching…." Sam growled once again as the wolves stalked back off into the woods and Jacob remained slightly in front of Edward as he had done for Bella several times before.

Edward stood watching silently as the huge wolves disappeared into the surrounding forest. "Jacob?" he began, when they were out of earshot. "Why did you defend me?" Even though he could easily read Jacob's thoughts to figure it out, he preferred to get an actual answer. It would at least reassure him that this was actually happening.

"Because it is none of their business who I befriend," Jacob replied automatically regretting using the term 'friend'. "Anyways," Jacob said as he turned and began his way back once more to the small place he and his father call home. He could see the rooftop coming into view. "Sorry, I suppose you would have preferred to take care of it yourself."

Following Jacob to the house, Edward answered, "No, I don't think I would have," he admitted. "Even I know I'm no match for three werewolves." He laughed lightly. He found it odd that Jake was willing to call him a friend. He could hear the regret in Jacob's thoughts, but he shrugged them off. "If it becomes a hassle for you," he said. "You may visit our home, instead. I mean, if you're not offended by visiting a bunch of 'bloodsuckers'." Edward scratched the back of his head uncomfortably.

"I don't know," Jacob said laughing as he turned to face Edward and put his head to his russet nose, "Sensitive nose remember?" He laughed once more. "But we shall see," Jacob replied. "This may sound weird…but I think I know why Bella fancied your company so much. We are somewhat similar. And it's nice to have a new buddy." Jacob finished as he climbed the porch stairs with a chuckle.

"We were starting to worry about you boys," Charlie said looking at the 'teens' as they walked in. Billy just stared.

Edward smiled, and walked inside. "We were just talking down at the beach," he said to Charlie, wishing Billy would cease his staring. "I've never been on the reservation. The view was nice." There wasn't much more to offer than that. He couldn't very well say that they were becoming friends at an alarming rate. It would be too strange.

Jacob sighed as he skid his bike to a stop still not happy with the throttle response. "Stupid piece of crap!" Jacob yelled as he threw the bike down to the road. He looked over at the school and thought of Bella. He heard a loud ring which signified that the school was out. Jacob smirked. He liked for the students to see him with his bare chest and feet, towering over them yet younger than them as well.

He picked the bike up and sat on it, not caring about the new scratches he had caused. He stared up at the sky and caught the smell of all five Cullen children.

Edward strode from class and out into the gray light filtering through the clouds. Just as he and his siblings reached the car, Edward heard Jacob's thoughts through the crowd of teenagers. The vampire turned around and saw him sitting on his bike, near the sidewalk of the school, surrounded by an invisible barrier, from people avoiding him. Not that he could blame them. The dark skinned teen towered over most of the others in an unintentional menacing way. "I'll be home later," Edward said, tossing Jasper the keys to the Volvo, and walking in the direction of the werewolf.

Jacob propped the bike up on its stand and stood tall. "Your family is looking at me funny…." Jacob said to the approaching teen. He kept looking over Edward's shoulder at the four other Cullens. "Well, Bella accomplished something legendary before her passing…she has successfully unpitted the vampire/werewolf rivalry between us…I think," Jacob said looking at Edward's face unsure.

Edward glanced over his shoulder at his family. "Yea," he said. "They do that." He stared at the bike and back at Jacob. "So, why exactly are you in front of our school?" he asked, assuming that Jake would appreciate him not probing his mind for once. He noted that a lot of people were staring at the two of them. And who wouldn't? They strongly contrasted with each other. A few boy's minds were lingering on the thought of a fight, while some girls were thinking completely inappropriate thoughts about them both.

"Would you um…do me a favor? What are those girl's thinking…? They look like they are going to molest someone…probably you," Jacob said avoiding the question at first then realizing he didn't have an answer. "I don't know why I ended up here. It was just where my bike decided to shit out," He growled at the bike behind him.

Edward really didn't want to go into much depth on what the girls were thinking. "Those two? Well, they aren't thinking about molesting either of us...though molestation is definitely in the equation," he said quietly. He looked at the bike behind Jacob. "Do you need any help with it? I don't know much about mechanics, but I could at least try to be of some use." He hoped secretly that Jake wouldn't bring up the girls again. Their mind was disturbing to him.

Jacob smirked as the girls walked over to them. "Can we PLEASE take your picture together!?" The taller one questioned bouncing up and down enthusiastically. Jacob raised and eyebrow at the females. The smaller, blond female had a camera clutched in her pale fingers. He scanned their faces once more and could see the same facial features he had before. The same look of longing and….imagination running across their faces.

Before either of the boy's could respond, the blond girl had snapped at least 20 pictures and the girls ran off in a giggling fit.

Jacob shook his head not wanting to linger on the strange females. "You know how to fix the throttle?" Jacob questioned. "The response is completely wrong for the way the bike drives," He stated as he looked at the bike.

Edward stood and stared at the bike, as if staring down an opponent. "I...like I said, I know very little about mechanics," he wavered. "But tell me what to do, and I'll try to help." He was merely repeating what he had said before, but it was true. All he knew how to do was disconnect cables to prevent escape. If Rosalie were here, she might have been better help than he.

"Look," Jacob said as he pointed to a part of the motorbike. Edward squatted down on one side of the bike as Jacob hovered over him from the other side. "I don't the cylinder is working quit right," Jacob said. Edward looked up at the russet boy as two other students passed behind Jacob. He heard their thoughts but didn't have time to react. Jacob was a big boy. He fell fast.

"Get a room," Said the taller male student as his companion female student giggled. The boy placed his hand in the middle of Jacob's back catching him off guard as he pushed him and he fell forward. Edward stood trying to move out of the way but only intercepting Jacob's fall that much more. In the next second, Jacob lay on the Edward who lay on the ground. Their lips had crushed together. Jacob was wide eyed. A squeal was heard from across the parking lot as well as the flash of the same camera as before. Jake popped up quickly. "Oh my..I am so sorry," He said as he turned to glare death at the teen who had pushed him.

Edward stood up, dusting his clothes off and glaring at the boy who pushed Jacob. Then it registered. Jacob had kissed him. Unintentionally...but he had kissed him. And for some reason, that fact didn't really bother him much. But that only made him that much more worried about it. 'No!' Edward thought to himself. 'I am not thinking about this!' He turned his attention back to the bike. "It's...ok..." he said to Jake. "Now, what were we talking about?"

"I…I think I should get back to the res," Jacob said as he started up the bike. "See you around Edward?" He said with a questioning tone as he climbed onto the motorbike. "The invitation to La Push is still there. Just make sure you go straight to my house. Wouldn't want you to get eaten," Jake said with a joking laugh. "See ya Cullen." He finished as he sped off.

Edward nodded. "Yea, see ya," he replied. The vampire watched as Jake sped away, and turned to walk back to his home. Once he was in the woods, he increased the pace to a run, and before long he was home. He walked through the threshold, and was greeted by strange stares from his entire family. "What?" Edward asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jacob parked his bike in the garage, the throttle long forgotten. He walked into his house, Billy was already there waiting. "Hey," Jacob said a little distant. His lips were tingling from the incident earlier at the school. He supposed that it was from the venom the vampire put off.

Billy rolled his wheelchair over in front of Jacob and stopped so that Jacob had no option than talk. Billy said nothing rather than sit and stare up at his son intently.

"What?" Jake questioned, confused.

"What are you doing? Hanging out with bloodsuckers? Taking up for them?" Billy stated. "A few of the boys here on the reservation saw you."

"I am doing what Isabelle Swan wanted," Jacob said getting defensive. "All she wanted was for me and him to get along, and maybe the pack get along with the Cullens. One step at a time I suppose, but at least we are trying," Jacob said and pushed his father's chair with his foot successfully rolling Billy out of his way and he went back into his room and closed the door with a loud thud.

Jacob growled, frustrated, as he reared his fist back and planted it firmly into the wall splintering the maple wood. This was exactly what Bella was seeing… People she cared about…pitted against one another. But that is the way it is… 'But just because it was didn't mean it should be….' Thought Jacob Black.

The Cullen family gathered around Edward as he came through the doorframe. "What were you doing talking to Jacob Black earlier?" Rosalie snapped.

Edward leaned against the wall and replied, "It's no big deal. His bike was acting up. I thought I could help."

Jasper frowned. Edward listened closely to his thoughts. 'What is that feeling? Fear? As if he has anything to fear from us…Unless he has something to hide.' Edward sidestepped away from the group and headed towards the stairs before his brother had the chance to ask about his emotions.

Alice tapped softly against the wooden door which stood between her and Edward. "Edward, may I come in?" She questioned in her soft voice.

Edward turned the volume down on his stereo, which was playing Debusy, and answered, "Come in." He knew that Alice was about to ask him to do something he didn't want to do. But her mind was being guarded as to what it was.

Alice smiled as she slid the door open and walked in. She frowned a bit at the large bed within the confines of the room. She knew that it would now serve no purpose. "If you need help to remove it from your room…" Alice began knowing Edward knew what she was talking about and that she would help.

She sat down on the reading chair off to the side and crossed her legs replacing her frown with a content smile. Her mind was completely blocked from Edward's so he couldn't read it. "I think it's awesome you made friends with him. Bella would be happy," She said encouragingly.

Edward shook his head. "I've actually grown to like it. It's much more comfortable to lay there when there is nothing to do than to sit in a chair," he replied. He watched his sister dance across the room and sit gracefully in the chair in the corner. Edward sat on the bed, across from Alice's seat, and let her newest remark sink in. "Well, that's one person on my side. But, I don't know how well this friendship will work out," he fell backwards, staring up at the ceiling. "That's beside the point, though, isn't it? You didn't come in here just to give me your opinion on that, did you?"

Alice smiled, "You know me so well." She floated over to sit down next to Edward. "There is a party tonight. I want you to go with me. You need it," Alice said with a smile already knowing the outcome of this conversation.

"Alice," Edward sat up, looking into his sister's eyes as he spoke. "A party? Do you honestly think I would be the type to go to a party?" He shook his head in refusal. "Maybe Jasper's calm waves have relaxed your brain too much."

Alice just smiled. "You are going to go. I am going to sit here and smile, not arguing, and you cave. I have seen it," She said bubbily as she stands up. "I will see you downstairs in 20 minutes," She finished, waving. "And Jasper's calm waves aren't 'calm' when I am involved," She stated with a wink before she disappeared from the room.

Edward watched Alice walk out his door and twisted his features. He sighed in defeat, and made his way over to his closet. He changed into a grey button up shirt, and a faded pair of jeans and procceded down the stairs to meet Alice.

Alice wore a light blue dress that came down to her knees. It sparkled lightly in the light from the lamp. "You look nice," Alice said with a smile as she reached up and fixed the collar of her brother's shirt. "Don't embarrass yourself too bad tonight, okay?" Alice said with a smile as she grabbed her keys from the table beside the door and walked out. She replayed the vision she had seen earlier and giggled. "Let's go! I haven't driven my Porsche yet!"

Following Alice out to the car, Edward tried to read her mind, but there was nothing there about anything embarrassing. Perhaps she was just teasing him. "Alice, whose house is this party at, anyways?" Edward asked, buckling his seat belt.

"It's at Ledana and Violet's house. I know them from my biology class," She said as she started the bright yellow car and whipped out of the garage. "I think you bumped into them earlier…I'm not sure….The vision was a bit scrabbled at the point I saw them. I suppose it was because of your new friend…but some of it came in….it was very strange," She said in thought before she shrugged it off.

Throwing the car into drive, Alice tore out onto the street. It took her less than five minutes to make it all the way across Forks to where the party was obviously being held. The neons that lined the house gave its location away.

Edward turned his face away from Alice, hoping she wouldn't notice his horrified expression. He was, however, grateful that her vision was blurry do to it Jacob being in it. Then it dawned on him when they arrived at the house. Violet and Ledana. Those were the names of the girls who were thinking inappropriate thoughts about Jacob and himself!

Alice got out and sniffed the air. "Interesting," she said as she locked the car and skipped into the house. She met up with the two aforementioned girls before she entered through the doorway. She signaled for Edward to come in as well.

Edward walked up to the house upon being signal, and lowered his head. He hoped desperately that the girls wouldn't recognize him. Before he could worry himself more, he caught a whiff of a familiar scent in the air. Werewolf. And not just any werewolf. It was Jacob.

Alice wondered off, lost in the crowd. Jacob wondered into the room wearing his usual outfit. A pair of cut off shorts and no shirt. He sniffed, smelling the familiar vampires. The two girls who had managed to attach themselves to him giggled together. "Okay girls, time to give ol' Jake Black some space," He said trying to once again wiggle free from them. This time, he managed and the girls walked off into the mass of people.

Somewhere in a corner, Edward hid behind the crowd. This was too strange to be a coincidence. He would have blamed Alice, but she couldn't see werewolves in her visions. The vampire pushed off from the wall he was leaning on, and opted to mingle in the crowd. After all, if he could smell Jacob, then more than likely Jacob could smell him.

Jacob laughed at the silly human females. He glimpsed silvery white skin out of his peripheral vision and turned to see little Alice Cullen dancing away happily. Jacob sniffed the air. It wasn't Alice he smelled. He turned his head and immediately spotted the Cullen boy. He stood out among the other's in Forks. He was more beautiful than all the boys and a lot more pale than all the girls … It was a vampire thing.

Jacob made his way over to Edward, his hands in his pockets, and leaned his back against the cool wall. "Wow. How in the world did she convince you to come?" He asked as Ledana ran up to them and wiggled in between them. Violet was on her heels and snapped a quick picture before both girls dashed off.

Edward blinked for a moment from the flash of the camera. 'Note to self,' he thought. 'Destroy that thing before the night's out.' He leaned his back against the wall, next to Jacob. "She has her ways, I guess," he sighed. "So, what are you doing here? I didn't think you knew many people off the reservation." Edward glanced around at the random people. A few of them had alcohol in their system already, even though the night was still young.

Jacob smiled, "I don't know many people off of the reservation. But A lot of people come to the res. Those two girls are a few of them. Actually," Jacob said in thought. "They come almost every day." Jacob watched the other drunken students stumbling around and chuckled. "This is bound to end badly."

"It always does," Edward agreed. He was hearing multiple thoughts in the room, most of which were contemplating stupid antics. "You don't drink do you?" He was fairly curious about it, mainly because he had never drank before he was changed. It was something that Edward couldn't understand why teenagers felt the need to try drinking.

"Not old enough," Jake said as he scanned the crowd and stared at Alice. "She sure is a lithe little thing isn't she…" He commented watching her dance happily. He felt a tingle in his skin and something was pulling him to his right…the direction Edward was. He sighed. These feelings seemed to make him think he had heard of them before. Like most things in the wolf's life, he ignored it.

Edward felt a grin tug at his lips. "Yea," he answered. "She's always been that way. Constantly moving too, like she just can't sit still at all." He found himself wondering why he was here. Again. It wasn't that he wasn't enjoying familiar company, but he was bored. Being a vampire, he was not entertain by trivial things the way most humans were.

Jacob sighed as he watched Ledana and Violet approach. "Hey guys," They giggled. Jacob resisted the urge to place his face in his palm. "Hey girls," He said with a smile.

"We wanted to thank you for coming to our party. You were the main ones we wanted to show…" They giggled looking at each other briefly.

"We are glad we would help," Jacob said with a kind smile.

"We were wondering if we could ask for a favor?" Violet said softly, almost shyly.

Before they had time to answer the other girl, Ledana, belted out. "WILL YOU KISS AGAIN!!" She questioned.

Jacob's eyes grew wide. Had they really just asked that? Seriously? He was frozen in confusion at what he had just heard. "Nevermind," Ledana sighed looking defeated. "I knew they wouldn't do it… They are just chicken…"

Edward wasn't provoked by Ledana's remark. He was concentrating on slowly scooting away from the crazed fan girls. This attempt, however, proved futile, for as soon as he moved, their attention was on him. "Ahem..." Ledana cleared her throat. "You still haven't given us an answer." Edward knew the whole time what they were thinking, and they were both dead set on seeing them kiss again. "Girls," he began. "You do know that the incident in the parking lot was an accident...right?"

"Exactly," Ledana replied. "So I need a picture of the real thing for my wall! Kind of like a real and fake comparison type deal," She said thinking. "Come ooooon, just one little kiss! Pleease!"They whined in unison.

Jacob stood still. He was nearly mortified with the request the girls were making. Were they being serious? He spared a glance over at Edward to see how he was reacting to the question.

The vampire clenched his eyes shut for a moment, a reaction derived from delving into the girls' minds. They weren't going to give up at all, he realized. Sighing, Edward tapped Jacob on the shoulder to shake him from his horrified state. "Let us talk about it for a second," he blurted, and pulled Jacob aside before they could protest. When they were out of earshot, Edward frowned and said with a sigh, "Bad news. I've read their minds. They are not going to give up on this at all." He was still cringing on the inside from the thoughts that ran through Ledana's and Violet's heads.

"So what now?" Jacob questioned. "We ditch? Can we even get away from those…… things…" He said softly so the girls couldn't hear him. He knew the vampire had heard him. He could vaguely hear the girls chanting … "Do it… do it… do it…" Jacob sighed.

Edward shook his head. "I'm afraid there isn't much of an option," he said, mournfully. "They'll stalk us until we give in to their demands...we'll have to..." Edward shuddered instead of saying the deed. This was odd for him. He wasn't one to react to something like this in such an obvious way. But he had already kissed Jacob once, strictly by accident, and now he was being cornered into another incident. Ever since Bella died, he was somehow getting himself caught in the strangest of circumstances.

Jacob sighed. "Come on now. Enough talking. Come on," Ledana said as Violet prepared the camera. Jacob sighed and stared at Edward's face for a moment then sighed. He leaned down eradicating the space between them. He couldn't quite make himself join their lips. He hovered his face over Edward's, his eyes half-lidded as he stared into the amber eyes before him. His lips ghosted against Edward's, their breaths mingling. Out of the corner of his eye, Jacob saw several flashes from the camera.

Edward could feel Jacob's warm breath on his face, a strong contrast with his cold skin. Their lips were barely touching and for some reason it felt incomplete. He leaned forward slightly, putting more pressure into the kiss. For some reason, it didn't feel as wrong a it had before. It actually felt...rather nice. 'No!' he ordered himself. 'You will not start this thought process again! Even though...you are kissing a werewolf...and a male one at that!' Two high pitched squeals were heard from Ledana and Violet, and the camera flashed several more times, before Edward backed away from Jacob's warmth.

Jacob felt his lips tingle with a cold chill as Edward removed his lips from his own. The wolf finally turned to look at the girls and was surprised that not only were the girls watching but everyone else as well, a few people had passed out with nosebleeds for some strange reason. "Did you get what you wanted?" Jacob asked with a raised brow. He was glad he was a darker skin color. He was nearly one hundred percent positive he was actually blushing. Probably from embarrassment. He saw Alice smirk from across the room deviously.

He couldn't believe what he had done. Edward wished that he could sink into the shadows of the corner, just as the myths falsely said his kind could do. If it were possible for him to blush from the stares he was getting, he definitely be a bright hue of pink. "Yea," Ledana ad Violet both said in unison. "Absolutely..." They both were staring, mouths slightly hanging open.

Edward nodded, nervously, and made his way through the crowd toward Alice. He threw her a warning glance, signifying for her to keep her teasing thoughts to herself, and he whispered, "I need some fresh air..." With that, he passed her, and walked out into the backyard.

"I…cannot….believe….we just did that…" Came Jacob's voice from the doorway as he shut the wooden obstruction behind himself. He stared at the vampire that was faced away from him. He wasn't sure what it was, but every time he was around the vampire, whether he saw him or not, it was like a magnet inside of each of them pulling towards one another. "Peer pressure is the worst…"

Edward turned to face Jacob, his expression blank. "Yea...that was just...a little overboard," he managed to say with a steady voice. Even though he seemed completely composed about the ordeal, Edward was breaking into pieces behind his perfect poker-face. Every time he looked at Jacob he questioned himself. Coincidences never happened, or so he told himself. There was a reason that they had kissed twice already. Though the first time was an accident and the second was the result of peer pressure, Edward couldn't help but think something was ultimately out to ruin his entire belief system. "Jacob?" the vampire questioned. "Do you ever feel like...everything you believe in is falling apart at the seams?"

Jacob smirked, "All the time. Every time one of the Cullens is around me…something else goes awry," the russet colored boy replied. Without a sound, Alice made her way around Jacob and over beside her brother.

"I am sorry," She said kindly in her soft silken voice. "I know we are on relatively friendly terms…but you still smell kind of bad," She finished covering her nose. Jacob chuckled. "So, are you coming to the house tonight?" She asked honestly curious. Normally, she would just look to the future for the answers. Right now, however, she did not have that ability because of the werewolf's presence. "We will need to let Carlisle and the others know if so," She finished with a smile. "Just let me know before we leave." She smiled happily and bounced back inside.

"…She is strange…" Jacob said following her with his eyes until the door was shut once more.

Edward rolled his eyes trivially as Alice disappeared behind the closing door. "I'll agree to that!" he laughed. "So? Are you coming to the house or not?" Edward couldn't believe that he was consenting to Alice's idea. Then again...if Jacob did come over, he could confirm whether or not his luck was pushing the envelope. The stood silently, awaiting the werewolf's answer. Something deep inside was hoping that he would agree, for he needed the company. His family was fine, but someone he didn't see every day was easier to talk to.

"Wow this is new. Bella was the only one who actually got away with inviting me to the Cullen estate," Jacob said with a laugh. "The blond one isn't going to eat me is she?" he finished with a chuckle.

Jake stretched his arms out, his muscle aching to be moved. He stuck his thumbs in his pockets and sighed, "I don't know….I don't get a welcome feeling there any more," He said softly staring up at the glowing crescent in the sky.

Eward laughed at Jacob's comment about Rosalie. "No, she isn't going to eat you," he said. He shifted on his feet uncomfortably. There wasn't any logical reason for him being so disappointed about Jacob's uncertainty. He was entitled to his opinions as much as everyone else. "You're always welcome," Edward told him. "You were a good friend to Bella. Bella was family to us, so technically...you're like a family friend." He glanced up at the luminescent moon that Jacob was staring at, then back to him.

Jacob gave a soft smile, still STARING (ha spelled it right) at the moon. "All right," He said with a soft chuckle. "I need to go get some things from the res first. I can't sleep in jeans," He said with a laugh. He thought for a moment. "This is great. I'll fit in perfectly…Now I will be the only one in the house that sleeps," He laughed a throaty laugh. He was full of fun tonight. He turned his gaze to Edward who was looking back at him.

"Eh," the vampire shrugged with a smile. "I'm sure we can find SOME place to stow you away for the night." Suddenly, Edward was glad he had convinced Alice that the bed needed to stay. "Then, I suppose we will see you later, after the party." He smiled at Jacob and turned to go back inside, pausing in front of the door. "You going back inside?" Edward asked.

"Nah," Jacob added. "Think I am going to head back to La Push. Hate to disappoint the awaiting fangirls in there but I need to talk to Billy. Plus….I feel the need to run," With that, seeing as how no one but the two of them were outside, he smiled with a pleasant, 'See ya,' as he lunged towards the woods phasing right before the house. The wind felt great rushing through his russet fur as he dashed through the trees. It was going to be difficult to convince him to let the teen werewolf stay the night with the coven of vegetarian vampires.

Edward shook his head, grinning, and went back inside the house. The party was still in full swing, so he decided it was best to let Alice prance about for at least another hour before convincing her that it was time to leave. Leaning the wall, Edward tried to avoid the strange glances he was receiving. Not that he could blame them. The only comfort that he found was in the fact that only a hand full of people were in the condition to remember the antic from earlier.

Jacob argued with Billy for nearly 15 minutes on why he believed that it was still safe for him to stay at the Cullen home, however, Billy refused to see his logic. Jacob grabbed a pair of plain black boxers and placed them in a plastic bag. He went outside and sat the bag down and made sure that no one was around. He stripped of his shorts and placed them in the bag as well. Jake quickly phased and picked the bag up in his large jaws and dashed for the Cullen home. He made it there in under 3 minutes sure that the two he had previously spoken to were already there. Phasing, Jacob put his shorts back on before approaching the front of the house.

Edward sat in the living room of their large home, avoiding the rest of his family. There was nothing better than to have a little time to yourself to think about things. Alice had told their family that Jacob would be spending the night the moment they walked in through the door. Edward had to admit, he wasn't expecting them to be so calm, with the exception of Rosalie, of course. She was furious. But Edward couldn't help but smirk remembering the cross look his sister had given him before storming off to her room. He paused in his musings, hearing familiar thoughts, and stood from the couch to go to the front door.

"Yo," Jacob said as he held his hand up in greetings. "Am I too early?" He asked getting bad vibes. He looked up and found where the vibes were coming from. Rosalie was staring, more like glaring, at him from out of her window. If looks could kill…Jacob Black would be laying on the ground in a burning fire. "Or….should I go home?" He questioned still glancing up at the blonde headed vampire.

Edward waved his hello and stepped a few feet outside to throw Rosalie a death glare. The curtain flashed across the window. "No, you're fine," he reassured his werewolf friend. "Rosalie's like that all the time. Just ignore her." Edward turned to go back inside, motioning with his hand for Jacob to follow. The two of them started up the stares in the direction of Edward's room.

Jacob followed his host into the house and immediately cringed and covered his nose. "Jeez…I forgot how this house smelled." He kept his arm over his nose, refusing to breath until he reached Edward's room. He removed the arm and raised and eyebrow, "When did you get a bed…and why?" He stared at it for a moment then spoke, "On second thought…don't tell me."

Edward sat down in his reading chair, and said, "Yea...I wasn't planning on it." He reclined, and steepled his fingers as he allowed Jacob to settle himself. "By the way, why don't you notice my scent as much as my family's?" he asked, honestly curious. He remembered how every time they would see each other, Jacob would make a comment about his smell, but lately he hadn't said anything.

"Just used to it I guess," He said not really thinking about it as he plopped down on the large bed and sank into it. "Wow…nice bed." He ran his fingers through his hair and stared up at the ceiling. He thought for a moment about how Edward hadn't said anything about his scent as well.

"Thanks," Edward said, getting up and scanning through his music. He put in a top twenties mixed CD and sat back down. "I'm sorry, I don't really know how to be a good host," he apologized. Suddenly, he felt self conscious. "If you get hungry, we have fruit downstairs. We use it as a decoration for the dining room table."

"I ate before I came over," Jacob chuckled with a wink. "I didn't want to make things awkward." He sat up and stared at the stereo. "I like this song. And it doesn't matter. Your a bad host and I am a bad guest. So I think we are even," He said as he read the cd titles from where he sat.

Edward leaned back in his chair, feeling rather deflated. "No. We aren't even," he sighed. "I have no clue what you do for fun. I don't even DO anything fun..." He was clearly frustrated with himself. The vampire began to wonder if going along with Alice's idea about inviting Jacob over was a smart move. He picked at the edge of the leather arm on the chair, causing it to peel back. Come to think of it, why DID he agree to it? Why did he agree to a lot of things this week?

"Why not….go downstairs?" Jacob questioned. He wasn't sure why he wanted to go downstairs. It was as if he was practically hearing the young female vampire from earlier calling him in his mind to go down to the main room. He stood up, suddenly feeling like he didn't want to leave the plush bed. He felt something trying to work his legs for him. So…his body wanted to go downstairs.

Edward watched Jacob stand up, and followed him to the door. "Sure, no problem," he said. He really didn't know why his company wanted to go downstairs all of a sudden, but it couldn't hurt anything. He figured at this point, it was better to let the wolf lead anyway. They walked down the stairs to the den. It was quiet, but that was nothing unusual for the Cullen home. Only on a few occasions was the house noisy; Occasions that Edward REALLY didn't want to think about.

Jacob sat down next to Alice, who sat next to Jasper, on the four seat couch. She had patted the seat next to her for him to sit, so he had. He stared up at Edward, the room quiet, as Carlisle and Esme shared the loveseat and Rosalie sat on Emmett's lap. Jake felt the tingling in his chest as before. Could he possibly be…no…not possible. He felt Jasper staring at him as everyone else watched the television.

Edward was completely and utterly confused. He was hearing very strange thoughts from Jasper. 'What the hell? I wish those stupid emotions from those two would go the fuck away!' What was that about? There weren't any unusual thoughts coming from the others of his family, or Jacob for that matter. They all seemed to be concentrating on the television set.

Jacob scooted towards Alice a bit, giving Edward a bit of space to sit down next to the large teen but keeping enough space between himself and Alice. He leaned back against the cushy couch and stared at the television. He was fighting off thoughts of Edward from his mind. That was one thing he wasn't going to be caught thinking about. Talk about awkward. He could feel his emotions going wild every time he glanced at the pale bronze headed vampire.

Edward sat down next to Jacob and tried to figure out why Jasper's thoughts were so frantic. It was annoying. The opening credits to CSI: Miami started and he tried hard to focus on the upcoming episode. The mystery of "whodunit", however, was not strong enough to dissolve his curiosity. He tried to search Jacob's thoughts for a possible answer, but nothing was gained from it. There was a tugging sensation at the back of his mind. The thoughts from earlier that day were creeping back into his head, begging for attention. 'There is no possible way that I...No. That can't be it. I refuse to admit that...But I'm feeling...drawn to Jacob somehow...'

Jasper couldn't take it. "ENOUGH!" He said raising his voice more than Jacob had ever heard before. Obviously, it was the same for the family because he wasn't the only one that jumped at the outburst. "THIS HAS TO STOP!! THESE EMOTIONS ARE ABOUT TO DRIVE ME CRAZY!! ONE MOMENT I AM ANTSY AND THE NEXT I AM EMBARRASSED THEN I'M LUSTFUL!! SOMEBODY REALLY NEEDS TO WORK THIS SHIT OUT!" With that Jasper stormed from the room. Giggling, Alice followed him. Jacob just stared, wide eyed. Was it…him…that Jasper was feeling?

Alice talked Jasper to at least go up stairs so he could rant to her and get it off his chest. Walking through the den, Jacob turned to him and spoke. "Ja-"

"No…" Jasper said putting his hand up to cut the wolf off as he continued on his way. Jacob sat back down and shut his mouth like a good dog.

Edward jumped in his seat at the sound of Jasper's booming voice. That was definitely unusual for him. He had forgotten for a moment about what he was thinking about. Running a hand through his copper hair, he cursed his emotions. There was no excuse for letting his guard down this time. Actually there was. That excuse went by the name of "Jacob". As Jasper emerged from the kitchen, he considered speaking up, but Jacob was the one to speak first. Why would he start to speak? Unless...

"I…" Jacob said looking straight as he felt all eyes on him. "I think I should leave," He said as he stood up debating on whether or not to go get his bag from upstairs. Could he live without that particular pair of boxers? Yes. He decided. Yes he could. He ran his hand through his russet hair before Esme spoke up.

"Don't be silly dear. He will be fine. It was just all the emotions in the room overwhelming him. It wasn't you. Why don't you and Edward go back upstairs to Edward's room?" She said as she hugged to Carlisle's arm. They looked like a young couple from the old days cuddled up together. Jacob nodded and turned to Edward.

Edward listened to the conversation between Esme and Jacob, standing after they were through talking. His eyes met with Jacob's briefly before he turned away, flustered. Nodding to his family, Edward led the way upstairs to his room. Once inside, he switched the CD player that they had left running off and sat back down in his chair. "We need to talk," he said seriously. His face had gone slightly paler than usual.