JPOV

Even in the midst of my excitement about a new band, I see Bella close her super secret novel notebook, as if I did not see that shit. She thinks that I have no idea that she has been working on the great American novel. I may be a guy, but she has been my best friend since birth. And we have always had the relationship between her father and my mother to rely on for our own interactions, especially after they moved us to Maine and away from their former spouses (otherwise known as our absentparents). Which means that I am aware of her writing. I have probably read more of it than she realizes.

I know that she is tuning me out as I go on and on about my new find, although I am not quite sure why. Maybe it had something to do with Edward, who just left. I did not even realize that they knew each other... So I pulled my classic "get Bella's attention" move.

"Earth to Bella." I think she found it funny the first couple times that I did it, but it got old very quickly, for her. I thought it was the perfect reference. I always felt like I was one of the few things that could get through to her while she was in Bella-land, my name for her constant zoning out. It was fine when we were just hanging out, but it got to be a problem during school hours.

After a little more bantering, I was off to buy us some lunch at the sandwich shop around the corner. Forks', thus named because the sandwiches were so packed with deliciousness that you needed a fork to eat one.

Edward sat at one of the back tables, distractedly picking at what I assume started as a steak and cheese; so, I placed my order with the cashier and walked over to join him. He had a book in one hand and a fork in the other. He seemed startled when I sat down, and it took a few seconds for his eyes to focus and for him to recognize me.

"Hey, Jazz. What are you doing here, man? I thought you had to work."

"Yeah, I just dropped by Oceanside, and you totally ignored me. What the hell?"

"Sorry, I guess that I must have missed you. You know how I can get sometimes. There have been a few times that I walked by Em, and he just might be the size of a building."

"You are just like my best friend. I have no clue how you two can keep a steady job when you guys have no ties to reality. You think I am not tempted to zone out at the PO?"

"Yeah. I see your point, but it does not do my brain any good."

"ORDER FOR WHITLOCK!"

"Listen, I got to get going with these sandwiches. Catch you later."

"Yeah, later, Jazz."

EPOV

Since when was Jazz at Oceanside? Wait a minute... Was he the guy talking to the girl? I know that I am a space cadet on my best days, but how did I miss that?

BPOV

Got a text from Jazz a few minutes before I got out of work. GONE TO BLACK'S TO CHILL. YOU DOWN?

I could see the lights through the grease on the garage door. Black's is the town's only garage, owned by Billy Black, who just so happened to know my dad from Washington. Jake, his son, was one of the few outsiders we let into our weird world. Maybe let is a strong word. More like he weaseled his way in when we were not looking. All of a sudden, he was there and we were friends.

I knew that Hale would be there, too. I always thought her and Jake were perfect for each other, but they said they were just friends. I just do not understand how you can get that dirty with someone on a daily basis and not want to get dirty with them (if you know what I mean). And Jake was hot. Muscles. Killer smile. Hell, if I was more of a girl, I would probably be swooning at the very thought of him.

Before I even opened the office door, I could hear them bullshitting and laughing. I walked in during one of Hale's stories about a man walking in on her fixing his car.

"Of course the bastard was an out-of-stater. Didn't know his asshole from his elbow. So when I popped out from under the hood, he was shitting bricks. Apparently, he's traveling with a friend, and he thought his friend fucked with the car to get him to the garage and hired a stripper to pretend to fix it. He laid one hand on me, not getting the drift that I was the fucking mechanic, and I belted him. He was out flat for a good fifteen. He was so embarassed that he didn't even flinch when I double charged him."

Even with an too large jumpsuit, covered in grease, her hair in a messy ponytail and a backwards hat, Hale was a goddess. Most of the guys around town drooled when they crossed paths. Too bad for them that she could care less about their desires. She had her own dreams, and working in a small town garage her whole life was not one of them. NOr was being someone's little housewife.

"Hey fellas. What's going on?" I said from my usual perch, the office chair.

"Shit, Bells. I didn't even hear you come in. Must be all that ninja training you took as a child." Hale laughed. My clumsiness was no secret. Even I was surprised that I had made it in unnoticed. But I guess he even men not totally smitten by her would not look away in the middle of one of her stories.

"Damn right, if by ninja training you mean I watched Buffy on a weekly basis." That's right. Buffy.

I got up from the chair and walked over to the couch, dropping down in between Jazz and Jake.

"What's a lady got to do to get some supper around here?"

After some more bullshitting, we all ended up at the Swan/Whitlock family home for some pizza. Dad and Maria headed to bed after a couple hours of our company. And we settled down to watch Dirty Harry. I woke up a few hours later, being carried to my room by Jasper. It never failed to amaze him how I could fall asleep while watching the most violent scenes in movies. Like I always said, violence was not interesting. (At least not most of the time.) Romance was the interesting part.