Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Three weeks after starting school Bella was starting to adjust to things. She knew everyone in her classes with the exception of a few people who wouldn't acknowledge her. She thought that was strange, since she hadn't done anything to deserve it. She was polite to the Cullen's when she saw them and had even talk to them during class. Emmett had asked her to be his partner in P.E. while they studied Tennis. That would be starting soon and she was dreading it.
She was walking down the hall with Angela and Eric one day not paying attention to where she was going and almost collided with someone who had stopped in front of her. She looked up from the notebook that she had been going through in surprise to see Emmett smiling down at her.
"Sorry. I should have known better than to look through this while I was walking," she said laughing nervously.
"It's okay," he said as his smile widened.
"Did you need something?" she asked when he didn't say anything else.
"I was wondering if you had your science notes from yesterday. Edward meant to talk to you but he didn't get a chance to."
"We're gonna go. We'll see you on Monday," Angela said pulling Eric down the hall.
"Sure. I just need to get them from my locker," she said as they continued down the hall.
"How have you been? I haven't talked to you in a few days."
"Good. How are you?"
"I'm good," he said with a nod.
They stopped at her locker and he took that time to take her in. She wasn't like any girl that he had ever met. He had dated a lot of girls since he had been changed but none of them had the effect that she had on him, or caused such a stir with his family. Dating a human was forbidden and he had to follow the rules since he didn't want to draw unwanted attention to her.
He was designated to being her friend; he didn't know how much longer he could handle that. He didn't have the overwhelming desire to bite her like Carlisle warned him that he would. Jasper was the only one affected by it, which was normal.
"You aren't as talkative as you normally are," she said as she rifled through her locker.
"I've got a lot on my mind."
"I can understand that," she said as she found her science notebook and started going through it.
Carlisle had said that it would be best if he didn't let her get close enough to suspect that something was going on. He fought an inner battle most days because all he wanted to do was take her away from everything and never come back. He wanted to protect her from all of the things that were going on around her. He didn't know how much more he could take of Mike Newton's talking about her.
He knew that he wasn't the only one who had fallen for her but he didn't like Mike, he had never liked him. Not liking someone was a new concept for Emmett, he got along with everyone. Rosalie had teased him when he had first been changed because he wasn't like the rest of them. Emmett was generally a happy person unless you messed with someone that was close to him.
Tyler Crawley still couldn't look at him after two years. It served the kid right; no one messed with Jasper and got away with it. Tyler had run like the wind when someone his size had confronted him. Emmett didn't expect him to cause any more trouble.
Bella closed her locker before turning to face him. He was looking down at his feet in concentration. Even though his eyes were cast down she noticed that his eyes were a lighter color than the last time she had looked into them directly. She had been afraid to do that since the color had thrown her off. They were a warm light brown shade today, almost a dark caramel color.
"Emmett?" she asked in concern.
"Sorry," he said shaking his head.
"Here are the notes for Edward," she said holding out the papers for him to take.
"Thanks," he said taking them.
"Tell him to keep him for as long as he needs them."
"I will," he said with a tight lipped smile.
"Do you wear contacts?" she asked curiously.
"No, why?" he asked.
"You're eyes look different than the last time I noticed them. They were almost black before."
"It's the fluorescents," he said dismissively.
"Oh, okay," she said laughing shyly.
"You aren't the first person to notice. Don't be embarrassed," he said as his eyes met hers.
Her breath hitched quickly, but she was able to recover before he noticed. Her heart on the other hand felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. What kind of pull did he have on her? She ran a hand through her hair to calm herself down.
"I'll see you on Monday," she said before moving around him.
"See you around," he called after her.
He watched her walk out the doors before pushing away from the lockers. It had taken a lot of planning and a lot of pleading on his part to talk Edward into staying away from her so that he could ask for the notes for him. He was grasping at straws in hopes of talking to her. He really needed to talk to Carlisle about what was going on. He was going stir crazy being forced to keep her in the dark.
Edward understood where he was coming from. He had waited two years for Rosalie to come around to the idea of them dating. That was why Edward was so accepting of Emmett's feelings towards Bella. He was drawn to her and there was no way to fight it.
XXXX
Bella sat on the couch reading a book while Charlie yelled at the TV. The hockey game had started only twenty minutes ago and the opposing team was already four points ahead. A car door shut outside and Bella got up from the couch to see who was there.
Billy's truck was parked behind hers and Jacob was getting Billy's chair out of the truck bed and a guy Jacob's age helped him into it. Another friend of Jacob's got out of the truck and the four of them made their way up the walkway. The longer haired guy and Jacob carried Billy's chair up the stairs while the taller guy carried an arm full of bags.
Bella opened the door as Jacob set Billy's chair on the porch.
"Hey," she said leaning against the doorjamb.
The two boys looked up, taking her in as they passed her. One had short curly hair while the others hair wasn't as long as Jacob's it did come to his shoulders.
"Hi," The long haired one said with a smile.
"Hey," The tall one said as he gave her another, very long once over.
"We brought more mouths to feed. I hope you don't mind," Billy said with a teasing smile.
"It's fine."
"Come in here," Jacob said jerking his head towards the kitchen.
Bella followed him to find the other two pulling things out of the bags and putting them away.
"So these are your two best friends?" she asked.
"Yep, this is Embry," he said pulling the long haired one into a head lock.
"Come on man, knock it off!" Embry said with a laugh.
"I'm Quil," The tall one said as he came to stand in front of her.
"Bella," she said with a smile.
"You know, the four of you don't have to hang out here. You can go out," Billy said from the living room.
"My truck only seats three," Bella said.
"Take mine," Charlie said over his shoulder.
"Do the three of you want to go?"
"Yeah, we can show you around," Jacob offered.
"I can make sandwiches for me and Billy. You haven't gone out and done anything without me since you got here."
"Be back by ten," Billy said.
"We will," Jacob said as he followed Quil and Embry out of the house.
Bella grabbed Charlie's keys and by the time she got to the truck the boys had already gotten in. Jacob and Embry were sandwiched in the back while Quil sat up front.
"Are the two of you going to be okay?"
"We'll be fine. Lucky for us we aren't going very far," Jacob said as she started the truck.
Quil gave her directions and pretty soon they were at the beach. It was windy and cold but the four of them sat on the beach watching the sun go down.
"I can see why you guys like it here. It's nice."
"It's not as nice as Arizona I bet," Jacob said.
"I didn't live near the beach in Arizona. I was surrounded by desert. So this is better."
A flock of seagulls dove into the ocean and came back out with fish in their mouths. Bella sat in between Jacob and Quil quietly taking in the scenery. She wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the chill as the wind picked up.
"Maybe we should have said that you would need a jacket," Quil said with a laugh.
"I'll be fine," she said with a shake of her head.
"Here, take mine," Quil said taking off his jacket.
He draped it over her shoulders but didn't take his arm away.
"Looks like fours a crowd," Embry said with a laugh.
"Shut up," Quil said smacking him upside the head.
"I should have warned you that they behave like animals," Jacob said with a laugh.
"I've dealt with worse," she said.
"We'll give the two of you a few minutes," Embry said before standing up.
"You okay?" Jacob asked as he stood.
"Yeah," Bella said with a nod.
Silence fell over them as Bella scooted closer to Quil. She trusted Jacob's judgment enough to know that Quil wouldn't hurt her. He seemed like a nice guy that she wanted to get to know a little better.
"We could go back to my house and hang out. At least it will be warmer there," Quil said after a few minutes.
"Sure."
"I'll text Jake and let him know," he said as he pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket.
He stood after he had put his phone away and held his hand out to her. She let him pull her up and he held her hand as they walked down the beach. A few minutes later they were at his house.
"I told him to meet us here. I guess he and Embry found something else to do," he said once they were inside.
"How long have the three of you been friends?"
"Ever since we could walk, my mom said the other day that Charlie used to bring you around before your parents divorced. All of us were too young to remember it."
"My dad didn't mention that," she said with a shake of her head.
"Do you want to watch a movie?"
"That sounds good."
They were in the living room when his mom came home an hour later. Quil introduced them before his mom went up to bed. He draped his arm over the back of the couch and Bella leaned against him with her feet resting on the coffee table.
"Is this okay? I don't want to invade your space," she asked looking up at him.
"It's okay," he said with a small smile.
His phone went off and he opened it. Jacob had finally texted him back.
I told my dad that I went home because I was tired. Have fun, Embry says he wants to know everything tomorrow.
His smile widened as he shut his phone.
"Was that Jake?"
"Yeah, he went home. He decided to call it a night."
"So you'll be the one going back to help Billy?"
"Looks like it."
She nodded before turning her attention back to the movie. He arm slid down the couch to fall over her shoulders and she looked up at him with an amused look.
"What?"
"I know what you're doing."
"What am I doing?" he asked giving her an innocent look.
"I'm surprised that you just went for it. You do get points for originality."
He nodded his head in approval before finally cracking a grin. She continued looking at him until his eyes met hers.
"You aren't shy are you?"
"No," he said with a laugh.
"I'm not either. So if you try anything else I want you to be upfront with me."
"You're not shy?"
"I may have some self-conscious issues, but I have always been vocal about what I want."
"Good to know," he said with a nod.
They got lost in the movie again until Bella realized that it was almost nine thirty.
"We should go."
"I'm gonna go tell my mom that I'm leaving."
"I'll meet you outside."
The ride to her house was filled with questions about their lives, their likes and dislikes and everything else that you ask a person when you are just getting to know them. He put a hand on her arm to stop her when she moved to open the door once they were at her house.
"Hold on a second," he said.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because I don't want to get caught kissing you by your dad," he said before leaning in.
His lips were soft and gentle over hers. He cupped her neck with one hand before applying more pressure. She slid across the seat to close the gap between them and placed her hands on his shoulders. His tongue swept across her bottom lip and she let him in. His hand tangled in her hair before the light on the porch was turned on. Quil pulled away with a sigh.
"Is he at the window?" she asked.
"Billy is."
"That's not so bad."
"We should go inside," he said before opening his door.
Inside Billy was in the kitchen with Charlie when Bella and Quil walked in.
"What did you two do tonight?" Charlie asked.
"We hung out at his house."
"Embry went home too?" Billy asked.
"Yes Sir," Quil said with a nod.
They were in the truck on the way home a few minutes later.
"So, did the three of you draw straws to see who would get to date her?"
"It's not like that," Quil said with a shake of his head.
"Then how is it?"
"She's nice, and she's funny. She's the first girl who hasn't run for the hills when I talk to her."
"That is important. Guys like you are hard to understand. I'm glad that you found somebody who gets you. I want to point out that if you hurt her I'll hurt you. She's like a daughter to me. I may be in a wheel chair but that doesn't mean my fists don't work."
"I understand."
"Just don't fall too fast."
"I'll try not to," Quil said with a laugh.
The rest of the ride to his house was quiet and he was left to his thoughts. He hadn't planned on anything happening with Bella. Jacob had told him and Embry about her and she had seemed like someone who he could feel comfortable being himself around. Most girls didn't appreciate his sarcasm or humor. Bella had laughed at all of his jokes; she was definitely someone worth getting to know.
XXXX
Emmett lay on the couch with an arm behind his head while he stared at the ceiling. He was thinking about the best way to talk to Carlisle the truth. He figured it would be best to be honest since Edward and Alice were the only ones who knew the truth. He knew that if he was upfront and just came out and said how he felt about her Carlisle would understand. He might even let her come over to meet him and Esme.
"You wanted to talk to me?" Carlisle asked from the entrance to the room.
"Thanks Bro," Emmett called with a sigh.
"Anytime," Edward answered from upstairs.
"What's on your mind?" Carlisle asked as he came to sit in the high back chair that was next to the couch.
Emmett sat up and put his hands on his knees.
"It's about Bella."
"We've talked about this Emmett. It isn't good for you to be around her," Carlisle admonished.
"I haven't been honest with you about her."
"What haven't you told me?"
"You haven't seen the way I am with her. Edward, Alice, Rosalie, and Jasper have. Alice and Edward think that she might be my mate."
"But you aren't sure?" Carlisle asked in concern.
"How can I be sure if I only see her at school? All I know is that I feel the same way about her that I did about Mallory."
Emmett hadn't said his wife's name in months. He hadn't been married long before he had been changed but he had been in love with Mallory for years. He had gone to see her when he could over the years until she had died a few years ago. He wanted to make sure that she was happy and that her life was meaningful. She had eventually remarried and gone on to have three children. She had told all of them about him, talking about him with the sentiment that had let him know that she had felt the same way about him. He wished that he could have talked to her, told her that he was sorry for leaving her the way he had, but he knew that she would never have understood.
"So this is serious?" Carlisle asked as his eyebrows furrowed together.
"Yes it is."
"I wish that you had told me this sooner. But I am glad that you've found someone that makes you happy. She still cannot know what we are Emmett."
"I understand."
"Bring her by. I'm sure that Esme would like to meet her."
"Yes Sir."
Carlisle put a hand on his knee, patting it lightly before walking out of the room. Alice came into the room and sat next to him. She slipped her feet into his lap as she leaned against the other end of the couch. He rubbed her leg lightly in greeting.
"Would you like to see what your future holds?" she asked with a smile.
"Do you know something?" he asked turning his head to look at her.
"No, but it shouldn't be too hard."
"Don't tell me too much, I want to be surprised."
"I can do that," she said with a nod.
She was silent for a few minutes before a small smile tugged at her lips.
"You are going to be very happy," she sat putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I can live with that."
"I would hope so. You've been waiting seventy years for someone to come along."
"What do you think of her?"
"She's nice, and she's smart, she's a lucky girl."
"There is one thing that I want to know."
"She will be very excepting when you tell her."
"Have I told you that you're my favorite?" he asked with a wide smile.
"You're my favorite too. Just don't tell Jazz," she said with a teasing smile.
He reached for her hand and she let him pull her into his lap. He didn't know what he would do without her and Edward sometimes. They were complete opposites but yet they both had the patience to listen to him whenever he wanted to talk. He was grateful that they had been put in his life.