Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
"Whoa!" Bella huffed as Jacob scooped her up in a tight bear hug instead of greeting her with words. There were cars parked in front of his house and she could both see and hear people inside. Her father was coming over after he got off work and she got the general impression that groups of people often ate together on La Push. Jacob had told her beforehand so she wore something nicer than usual, a gypsy like top and a pair of dark wash jeans she bought at the beginning of the school year and hadn't worn since. She actually let Angela put concealer under her eyes at school but decided against the over shinny lip gloss.
"Hello to you too" she greeted "is everything okay?" she asked
"Yes, no, yes I think" he said quickly as he sat her down on the ground "I took my dad to the hospital-"
"Oh my god is he okay?" Bella asked instantly concerned
"I took him on Tuesday then back yesterday, which is why I couldn't hang out with you because after you left on Monday he wiggled his toes!" he said excitedly with a huge smile "he hasn't moved anything down there since the accident, the doctor told us that the nerve that was severed was healing!" again with the grin that Bella had to send him back, genuinely happy for him "it's only healed a little bit but it's healed" Bella gasped as he hugged her again
"Can't breathe" she choked out and Jacob instantly loosened his grip on her before grabbing her hand and dragging her into the swarm of people that was his living room. Henry and Sue Clearwater were there along with their kids Leah (who was brooding in the corner) and Seth (who clung to Jacob like a little brother). Quil and his parents where there took as well as Embry and his mom. Though surrounded by his friends Jacob mostly talked to Bella until he wanted to show the guy's the progress they made on the bike and at that time Bella stayed in the house. She snapped a few pictures of the crowd and tilted her head as she examined the light in Billy's eyes and the pain in Leah's.
"Hey" she greeted as she handed Leah a soda, feeling like she was approaching a wild animal "are you okay?"
Leah glared up at her "No" she snapped
"Okay, you don't want to tell me, I understand that" and she did, too well did she understand that, Leah sneered
"Really? my fiancée just left me for my cousin" she snapped again "do you understand?"
Bella shrugged "Well I don't have a back-stabbing cousin but I understand crappy ass boyfriends" she pulled her hair back so Leah could see the scar on her neck.
"He did that?" Leah asked, her glare a little less piercing
"Yep" Bella answered sitting down across from her and moving her hair back in place.
"Well" Leah started after taking a sip of soda, her expression softened "it's not even like I can be that upset, she's not back stabbing and he's not crappy, I know neither of them wanted to fall in love with each other or hurt me but..." she trailed out with a helpless look on her face.
"But they did hurt you" Bella finished "and no matter what you do they're still happy and you feel bad for wanting them to feel as miserable as you do"
Leah nodded and Bella touched her shoulder in a comforting way.
"You know that old, stereotypical saying 'it's always darkest before the dawn?'" Leah nodded "well I think in your case it's true because if your crappy ex-boyfriend can find love then cupid has a major hunk aimed your way" Leah smiled but before they could continue their conversation Charlie entered the house and Billy called the guys in from the garage to eat.
The kitchen was too small for the whole crowd so the kids scrambled around the coffee table with their spaghetti. As the adults and children carried on different conversations, Charlie kept sneaking glances over to Bella to see that she was both eating and engaging in conversation. Embry was telling a story about Jacob that made him hang his head and blush so Bella intervened.
"So Embry, Jacob tells me people thought you were allergic to girls for some time"
A roar of laughter quickly erupted in the living room, causing the adults to look over with curious expressions. Bella returned the wink Jacob sent her and noticed the groups shocked faces when they noticed Leah's light chuckle.
"Dude!" exclaimed Embry "it wasn't my fault the chick shoved three peanut butter cups in her mouth seconds before she kissed me!" he insisted but only succeeded in more laughter.
After dinner and after everyone but Charlie and her left, Bella helped Jacob with the dishes before they retired to the garage. In the two days since they'd been together he had made serious progress on the bikes.
"I think Quil like's you" he stated out of nowhere, causing Bella to laugh lightly
"I think he's a bit young for me" she joked, Jacob frowned
"Only about a year, not that big of a difference" the intense look he was giving her made Bella positive that they were talking about Quil anymore.
"Yea well given my last brush with the opposite sex I'd say I'm out of the dating game for a while" she told him while absently mindedly scratching the scar on her neck.
"Maybe your problem is with guys your own age?" Jacob suggested with a coy grin "maybe you should date a younger guy just to make sure"
"Just to make sure huh?" Bella questioned while fumbling with her camera "so you want me to go out with Quil?"
"I wasn't talking about Quil" the huskiness of his voice made her look up only to be met with his intense, dark stare. Desperate to break the hold of his gaze, Bella snapped a picture of him.
