Chapter Two
"Jake," I called as we drove in silence. "What is it, Nessie?" he said playfully, eyes never concentrating off the road. "What do you think will happen… once you're gone? The pack, Billy?" I knew better than to ask for something which I had absolutely nothing to do with, but I had to know what Jacob was leaving behind. He had a huge responsibility here in La Push, I suddenly felt guilty for making him abandon them.
He didn't talk for a minute or two. "Well, since Leah is my second in command. So, she'll be handling things around my pack. And I think Rachel and Paul will be able to keep Billy entertained." I smiled. "If they ever stop looking at each other for a moment!" I joked.
Jacob chortled along with me. Rachel and Paul were so in love, a person could just tell so by the looks in their eyes. Paul looked upon Rachel as if she were the last cup of water in a desert. "Yeah, well they are getting pretty serious, after seven whole years together. Paul finally gathered some guts to propose." I hadn't known that.
"What?" I asked in a much staggered tone. "They are going to get …married." I said. I hadn't even thought that marriage existed in the real world; I thought that it was only something which existed in novels and movies. It had never occurred to me that people were bold enough to face commitment; for true love.
Jacob beamed, and his eyes were dark for a second. "What's wrong? Aren't you happy for Rachel? I know that you and Paul have had your differences in the past, but_" he shook his head. "It's not that I'm not happy for the both of them, I'm just… worried." There was no reason for his irrational unnecessary apprehension. "Of…?"
"It's just that marriage leads to…complications, Nessie. You wouldn't understand." He was serious again. "What do you mean Jacob? And please don't… push me out, I can help." I comforted him. His hands were on the steering wheel, and his eyes were in our path, but his mind was in memory lane.
He heaved a sigh, "you see. Nomadic Vampires often 'visit' Forks, and I am just afraid that they… would trigger a certain unwanted gene." Jacob did not wand Paul and Rachel's child to become a shape shifter, completely understandable. Mother had always told me how he hated being a wolf, constantly referring to it as a 'curse'.
I had come to think about it once, to see how it had actually ruined people's lives. Embry's relationship with his mother had been hanging by a thread as he had to repeatedly lie to her about his doings; she could not know about the tribe secrets. Seth and Leah's phasing prompted Harry's heart attack. Sam broke Leah's heart because he imprinted on Emily. Embry almost lost a mother, Seth lost a father, and Leah lost a lover.
No wonder Jake did not want anybody else to be harmed. "Don't worry, Jake. Vampires would never come around the place." I gave him a reassuring smile and the car came to a sudden halt.
Before I could get out of my seat, he was by my door. "After you." His constant smile was back, and I happily walked with him. We both kept holding hands, although it was rather hot. "Where do you want to go?" As if he had expected a different answer. "First Beach" we said at the same time.
Our laughs erupted out of nowhere. It was always like this with Jacob, everything was as simple as breathing with him. We kept walking till we reached the lovely sandy shores. This was where I wanted to be, and with whom I wanted to be.
We both sat on the sand, next to each other, and started looking at the luminous sun. "This is… nice." I mumbled. A faraway cliff couldn't escape my eyes. I had seen many of the wolves perform this incongruous activity. They used to climb those high terrains and immediately jump to the water.
Jacob had never allowed me to do that, perhaps it was due to my parents' disagreement. Father had unpleasant memories about cliff diving, but he didn't want to tell me about them. He said that those were darker days, when there was no sun to light his morning, no moon to begin with.
But they only disagreed once, when I was in a seven-year-old's body. I had never asked him since then, but I had a feeling that he wouldn't say no. Especially if it was my last day in Forks.
I turned to Jacob, who was not staring at the magnificent view, he was staring at me. With a wide smile on his face, he blushed when our eyes met. "Jacob, I want to go cliff diving." He looked obscurely at me. "No, absolutely not." His remark had completely surprised me; Jacob used to agree on whatever I wanted.
"Why not?" I whined, he smiled. "Your parents will kill me if I allow you to do so. And other than that, I don't want you to get hurt Ness." I gave him 'the pout'; I used to do it when I wanted him to do something for me, its powers weakened him.
He playfully rolled his eyes. "Stubborn and willing to use whatever you have to provoke, just like your mother." He murmured. "What my parents don't know won't hurt them." I said seductively. He smirked, "fine."
"Good, now come one, Jakey." I stood up from my crouch in the sand, and offered my hand. "Alright, just take care." He said as he took my hand and stood right next to me. "Wait, are you jumping off a cliff… dressed like that?" I hadn't even noticed what I had been wearing.
I was in blue hot shorts, and a red checker button down shirt. I was also wearing a pair of sandals which Aunt Alice insisted were 'decent'. "What's wrong with my outfit?" I childishly asked. He blinked twice, and then he… winced? "You're wearing a shirt and some shorts too," I quickly added.
"Nessie, I am not talking about that. What if you get wet, they'll find out then." I pressed my finger against my chin and began pacing on the floor. "Let's just do it, and worry about it in the end. Come on, I'll race ya."
Jacob smiled –like he did most of the time with my presence- he was always up for a challenge. I darted off to the other side of the beach where a long run to the cliff would await me. It honestly didn't matter if I got fatigued; Jacob would carry me home if I told him to.
He started taking off his clothes to phase; so I quickly turned my head and continued running; I was not going to lose. My half vampire speed did not count as an advantage in this race. A huge russet brown wolf appeared next to me, I tried to push me limits, but was not successful.
I turned to a different direction, and he was in front of me in a matter of seconds. Giggling my heart out, I try to climb one of the trees like my parents used to do when they hunted. To my total shock, I succeeded. Jacob was only a few inches ahead, "Hey!" I called to get his attention off the way.
The wolf looked upwards and his mouth dropped. I was finally ahead of him, but not for long. We were almost there, I kept jumping from tree to tree, and when I finally hit the ground he jumped over me and got there first.
I panted hardly and he phased back, putting only his shorts on. I got up, defeated, yet I laughed so hard that it hurt. "What do you think?" he asked, looking a little smug. "Great, I wouldn't want to harm your huge ego." I looked up at his bare chest, and almost had some 'inappropriate' thoughts.
Jacob had been walking around like that all the time when I was little, yet he had never … appealed to me until now. I knew that most of the wolves were strong like Jacob, but there was something about him that was … different.
I blushed, a deep crimson, when he noticed that I was looking at him. "So, would you like me to go first, or would you rather that you went there first." I took a few steps forward and looked down at the water. My face whitened as I perceived how high it was. I was not going to coward in fear now, I needed to try it.
"How about we both go at the same time." I suggested, trying to hide my fright. "Okay." He said doubtfully. "On my count to three… One… Two… Three." We both began running towards the edge. "Wait Nessie are you sure_" he could not complete his sentence; we were in mid-air, waiting to land in the safe water.
AN:Please review, I promise to post more chapters once I have the time.
