Repercussions

Challenge Number/Title: 3# Word Play
Date Posted: 7/2/13

Fandom: Twilight
Rating: T
Genre: Canon. Set during Eclipse.
Content Descriptors: Romance and angst.
Character Pairing: Edward and Bella.

This one-shot is Edward's perspective of the 'tent scene' which takes place in Eclipse. The dialogue rightfully belongs to Stephenie Meyer and I acknowledge this fact.


I supposed I deserved the troubles I was facing now. If I hadn't left Bella, we wouldn't be facing them. Yes, I was well aware that my attempt at being noble had failed miserably, and that the repercussions I was forced to deal with were well earned, but did they have to affect everyone around me also?

I hadn't been lying to Bella when I'd told her that my family was in no danger from fighting the Newborns, but every second that Victoria remained alive, Bella continued to feel threatened, and countless innocent humans were going to die at her hand due to her insatiable thirst, and I wanted – no needed – to annihilate her soon. I didn't doubt my ability to protect Bella; there was nothing I took more seriously than making sure my beloved was safe, but the sooner Victoria was gone from our lives, the better. Of course, Bella made my job rather difficult sometimes when her stubborn nature got in the way, and I really wished she'd stop underestimating the danger that was constantly forced upon her. This brought me to the two main repercussions that I was forced to face daily, one of which was a real and precarious problem, while the other was quite childish, but still infuriated me to no end, and sometimes irritated me more than the first.

The first of which was Victoria. She'd have been caught and decapitated months ago if I hadn't been wallowing away in the slums of Rio over Bella's absence. Yes, I'd been trying to track Victoria during that time, but my lack of skill due to her irksome ability, and the fact that I had no one to aid me, had made that quite impossible. If I'd waited in Forks, perhaps my family would've cornered her and we wouldn't have had to waste time tomorrow killing a coven of Newborns, and Victoria herself. If I'd killed her back then, then Bella wouldn't be in the arms of a werewolf right now.

I shuddered.

That brought me to the second repercussion of my leaving Bella.

Jacob Black.

If there were one person on the earth I could choose to damn to hell, it would be him. The way he looked at, and thought of my beloved, disgusted me. He wanted her, not because of how amazing she was, but because he couldn't have her. It astounded me how Bella couldn't see past his cocky smirks, how she didn't take notice of how often he manipulated her, and why she couldn't grasp that he'd never settle for just being her friend. I didn't blame her for any of this; it was only because of her goodness, her ability to disregard all faults people had, to interpret their actions as being justifiable no matter the circumstance that she was able to see past all of his scheming. She'd proved this point every time she simply looked at me. Somehow she saw past the inhuman coldness of my skin, and the monster that resided somewhere within me, and found something there that even I couldn't deem redeemable.

She had no idea of how much it hurt me, however, when she brushed off my warnings of how violate he was and went to see the dog anyway, despite how I'd advised against it. If only she could see my way, understand why I worried so. The little touches she shared with him, the smiles that were only for him, inflicted jagged cuts against my long dormant heart and I would give anything to make it stop. I knew she meant it only as a platonic gesture, but to him it was much more, and he liked to flaunt it in my face whenever he could.

In some ways, Jacob Black was still a child.

Yet, despite that fact, I would kill him without a second thought if Bella was not so against me doing so. The look of utter betrayal on her face that I knew would surface when she discovered what I'd done was the only thing that kept me from ripping his head off right at this second.

Yes, I'll admit that it wasn't just because of the danger that his kind presented to Bella, which stirred up this intense fury inside of me at the mere sight of him.

Half of me was riddled with incurable jealousy.

I absolutely loathed him for the future he could give Bella. She could have a career if she chose to be with him, could grow old with him…have children. Before I'd met Bella, it had never bothered me that I'd never be a father, but to think of Bella never being a mother, seemed the cruellest injustice on earth.

I completely abhorred him for being to understand her in those times that I couldn't. As much as I detested the fact, there were just some holes I couldn't fill, things that were only fun when she did them with him. Her reaction to the motorcycle I'd bought a few weeks ago was cold, hard proof of that.

I hated how even after she'd accepted my marriage proposal, I was still unsure of my hold on her, on if she'd change her mind and run into his arms.

He was warm like the sun; I was cold like death.

For anybody but Bella, the choice would've been obvious.

But as far as I knew, she had chosen me, chosen to be my wife. I smiled as I thought of the previous night, of the moment when she'd agreed to marry me. Yes, it had taken some convincing and compromising on my part, but now I'd soon be able to officially call her my soul-mate, and no man would ever be able to even look her way again, but me. It bothered me a little that she didn't wear the ring – nothing pleased me more than seeing my mother's delicate ring on her finger – as I wished to proclaim to the world that she'd said yes to me, but I could understand why she didn't want Jacob or her friends to find out straight away.

I wasn't an imbecile; I knew that it would be difficult when Jacob found out. I anticipated the moment almost as much as I feared it. The anticipation was solely for the look on the mutts face when he realised that his conquest had failed. The fear was over how Bella would handle his reaction. I couldn't stand her being in pain; she didn't deserve any of this. If I hadn't left in the damn first place then the moronic dog wouldn't have formed a friendship with Bella.

However, regrets wouldn't send the consequences away.

And I was getting the full brunt of them tonight.

No words could describe the agony of having to listen to Jacob's thoughts as he held Bella close to him as she slept in his arms. I knew it was necessary to prevent Bella from freezing to death, but that didn't make it any easier to witness. If I were human, my fists would be broken from the force applied as I clenched them. It killed me to see the tranquillity in her features as she dreamed, and I could only hope that she weren't dreaming of a certain werewolf. There was only so much I could take. We would find out soon, I doubted that her sleep-talking habit would abate just because of the new environment.

I winced a little as I processed Jacob's thoughts. This time he was thinking of a scenario where Bella began to yell for me to leave her alone, and then when I did so, she ran over to Jacob and kissed him more fiercely than she ever did with me. His arrogant little daydreams were getting progressively worse as the night went on. At first they were tame, and all I could read was the smugness he bore, but then they began to grow more explicit. I tried as best as I could to ignore them, but it was as if he was shouting them for the entire world to hear.

My wince transformed into a low growl when I saw the latest fantasy that was playing in his head. I wasn't sure if I was meant to witness this one or not. Either way I was thoroughly horrified and furious.

I was surprised that my fists didn't break off.

It was of Bella hovering over Jacob on the tent floor as he swept his unworthy hands over her glorious body. She then moaned his name before laying a trail of hungry kisses up and down his chest.

They were both naked.

Jacob then began to imagine penetrating her.

The thought of Bella doing that with the mutt made me angry beyond comparison. Although this generation didn't realise it, making love to someone was not something you just did. It was a sacred act, and one that you should share with your partner and no one else. Even though I was reluctant to attempt the act with Bella while she was still human, it made me feel murderous to even consider Bella deflowering herself for someone else, let alone seeing it in my mind, and for the mutt of all people. The infuriated words that slipped out were hardly of my accord.

"Please! Do you mind!"

To my surprise, Jacob looked up, confusion lining his features. "What?"

As if he didn't know the hell he was putting me through!

He could at least have the decency to act like he knew what I was talking about.

I spoke through gritted teeth, only barely able to conceal my fury. "Do you think you could attempt to control your thoughts?"

"No one said you had to listen. Get out of my head."

He sounded oddly embarrassed.

Ah, he hadn't intended for me to see his little fantasy then.

This didn't appease me in the slightest bit.

Even though the image had vanished from Jacob's mind, it hadn't quite been banished from mine.

The thought of the mutt's disgusting body pressed against the innocence of Bella's made me see red.

"I wish I could. You have no idea how loud your little fantasies are. It's like you're shouting them at me," I said in revulsion.

His chagrin quickly altered into that of his usual smug demeanour.

"I'll try to keep it down."

His sarcasm then turned into a silent question.

'What? Wish you could be with her without hurting her?'

"Yes, I'm jealous of that too," I admitted.

There was nothing else I could do, but perhaps answering his questions – however vindictive – would make the night pass more quickly, and keep the disgusting fantasies out of his head. I would do anything to keep them at bay.

"I figured it was like that. Sort of evens the playing field up a little, doesn't it?"

I laughed. Bella never cared about how dangerous things were if they made her happy; I was living proof. "In your dreams."

"You know, she could still change her mind. Considering all the things I could do with her that you can't. At least not without killing her, that is."

This time when he thought of he and Bella together, it was deliberate.

This time, however, he was groping her.

My eyes narrowed dangerously.

It was difficult to resist the urge to crush his skull so he wouldn't be capable of thinking any more.

The way he imagined them being together was exactly why he was so wrong for her.

"Go to sleep Jacob," I hissed. "You're starting to get on my nerves."

"I think I will. I'm really very comfortable."

It seemed he wanted to get a rise out of me. Well he wouldn't get one; it would get me nowhere.

But then he thought something I couldn't refrain from answering to, and my resolve to keep silent was broken.

'There are so many things I'm dying to know. His thoughts would be priceless right now. But there's no way in hell he'd share them with me. He's too introverted and stuck-up.'

"Maybe I would."

I knew this was the only way to keep him from thinking the blasphemous thoughts he was thinking before.

"But would you be honest?" he wondered.

Now there was the question.

I wasn't quite sure what to say. "You can always ask and see."

"Well, you see inside my head – let me see inside of yours tonight, it's only fair."

'This should be interesting. I wonder how it feels to have your girlfriend sleep – well not sleep with but ugh… you know, spoon with your worst enemy. Or better yet, I could ask why the hell he came back to Forks after leaving Bella the way he did. Or how he can pass up such a good fight. I mean there's nothing in the fucking world, which is going to make me miss this fight. Then again, Bella was acting like she'd committed a murder earlier today when I asked. Maybe she guilt tripped him. That doesn't sound like Bella though. Agh, who cares, there are so many things I could ask. I wonder what he'd say if I asked him what he'd do if Bella chose me, which of course could still happen, and if I have a say in anything, it will happen. The bloodsucker just won't admit it.'

They were all very personal and complicated questions, so I simply said, "your head is full of questions. Which one do you want me to answer?"

He only needed to think for a few seconds before answering.

"The jealousy…it has to be eating at you. You can't be as sure as you seem. Unless you have no emotions at all."

The werewolves really had flawed views of us. Of course we had emotions; we weren't damn machines. I thought the jealousy was as plain on my face as it was burning inside of me.

I could tell Jacob's question was of pure curiosity, so I guessed not.

"Of course it is. Right now it's so bad that I can barely control my voice. Of course, it's even worse when she's away from me, with you, and I can't see her."

Those days were the worst of my existence, aside, of course from the days when I'd left her altogether.

"Do you think about it all the time?" he whispered. "Does it make it hard to concentrate when she's not with you?"

It was very difficult to answer such private questions so honestly, but once I'd begun speaking, it actually became surprisingly easy.

"Yes and no. My mind doesn't work quite the same way as yours. I can think of many more things at one time. Of course, that means that I'm always able to think of you, always able to wonder if that's where her mind is, when she's quiet and thoughtful."

It was at those times that I would trade anything to hear her thoughts.

'Oh, so you're not the only person that she thinks about? You must hate that."

His thoughts had taken on a smug edge again.

"Yes, I would guess that she thinks about you often. More often than I like. She worries that you're unhappy. Not that you don't know that. Not that you don't use that."

It wouldn't surprise me if he detected the bitterness in my tone.

"I have to use whatever I can," he muttered. "I'm not working with your advantages – advantages like her knowing she's in love with you."

His thoughts enlightened me on why he lacked a guilty conscience.

'He makes me sound like a complete ass.'

"That helps," I agreed.

I was aware that I had the upper hand here, but that didn't mean that I couldn't lose.

"She's in love with me, too, you know."

Just hearing him say the mere words, was painful. It reminded me that even though Bella had given me her heart, some of it belonged to someone else, and I had no one to blame but myself. If only I hadn't left her…

He sighed. "But she doesn't know it."

I didn't know if it was real love she felt for him, or if it was merely platonic, but either way she could still choose him. I wanted more than anything for it to be the latter, but somewhere deep down; I knew it was the first. "I can't tell you if you're right."

"Does that bother you? Do you wish you could see what she's thinking, too?"

I answered honestly. "Yes…and no again. She likes it better this way, and, though it sometimes drives me insane, I'd rather she was happy."

The silence that rang between us after I'd finished speaking was made more so by the howling wind outside. Jacob's hold on Bella tightened, and for the first time since we'd gotten here, I was relieved that Jacob was here to keep her warm. It made me jealous, insurmountably so, and caused me immense mental pain, but she was warm and looked comfortable which was all that mattered.

"Thank you," I whispered, all my pride having been thrown out the window. "Odd as this might sound, I suppose I'm glad you're here, Jacob."

He gathered my true meaning right away.

'Like hell he means that.'

"You mean, 'as much as I'd love to kill you, I'm glad she's warm' right?"

Hmmm, he and I were on the same page for once.

"It's an uncomfortable truce, isn't it?"

"I knew you were just as crazy jealous as I am."

Even though I tried to keep Bella from noticing my blatant jealousy, I hadn't been keeping it a secret from him tonight. He obviously wasn't very perceptive.

For once I could afford to be arrogant.

"I'm not such a fool to wear it on my sleeve like you do. It doesn't help your case, you know."

"You have more patience than I do," he muttered.

"I should. I've had a hundred years to gain it. A hundred years of waiting for her."

I smiled internally at that.

Those one hundred years, however dull, were worth enduring if it meant being with her.

"So…at what point did you decide to play the very patient good guy?"

I could tell this was one of the questions he was most curious about.

It took me a few seconds longer than it usually did to reply. I knew theanswer, just not how to explain it so he'd understand.

"When I saw how much it was hurting her to make her choose. It's not usually this difficult to control. I can smother the…less civilised feelings I may have for you fairly easily most of the time. Sometimes I think she sees through me, but I can't be sure."

I frowned as I thought of that.

'Bullshit'

"I think you were just worried that if you really forced her to choose, she might not choose you."

I couldn't deny that he was partially right.

That didn't mean I was happy with his assumption.

I didn't even want to consider what would happen if she chose him.

I was being pushed to my breaking point tonight, it seemed.

"That was part of it," I admitted. "But only a small part. We all have our moments of doubt. Mostly I was worried that she'd hurt herself trying to sneak away to see you. After I'd accepted that she was more or less safe with you – as safe as Bella ever is – it seemed best to stop driving her to extremes."

He sighed. "I'd tell her all of this, but she'd never believe me."

I grinned. "I know."

"You think you know everything," he said irritably.

My smile faded as I thought of the one thing I didn't know, but wanted to know more than anything. "I don't know the future."

'He's really not as confident as he thinks…I could make this work in my favour."

"What would you do if she changed her mind?"

I banished the thought immediately before I could form any more doubts.

"I don't know that either."

Jacob laughed, amused at the fact that I finally wasn't sure of something for once.

"Would you try to kill me?"

Who was arrogant now?

He seemed to think that dying by my hand was an impossibility.

If only he knew.

But unfortunately there was no way I could test either of our theories; it would cause Bella pain, and that was something I wouldn't stand for.

"Why not?" he sneered.

"Do you really think I would hurt her that way?"

It seemed that he was incapable of fully grasping how much I loved her.

He had no idea of the love our kind had for our mates.

He really needed to open his eyes and face the facts.

He sighed again. "Yeah, you're right. I know that's right. But sometimes…"

His thoughts turned to one of ripping my head off in his wolf form.

Rather than it being irritating…it was quite amusing.

How I'd like to rip his head off.

Or at least break his jaw.

"Sometimes it's an intriguing idea," I agreed.

It took a while for him to reply, as he was laughing into the sleeping bag like there was no tomorrow. Finally he said, 'exactly.

There was a few seconds of silence, before Jacob's thoughts shifted to a place where I couldn't imagine they'd ever go. I thought, like me, he'd refuse to think of what would happen if Bella chose the other way, but we were evidently two very different people.

He was thinking of Bella, still, white, crimson-eyed, cold…an inhuman version of her.

A vampire.

In his mind, she was snarling at whatever was in front of her, red eyes crazed with thirst.

'I wonder if she'll still look like Bella. It'll be a lot harder to destroy her if she does. Hell, it might be almost impossible. From what she told me, I'm going to have to deal with that very soon if she doesn't change her mind.'

I flinched.

"What is it like? Losing her? When you thought you'd lost her forever? How did you…cope?"

I refused to think of that time, so I simply answered him impassively, "that's very difficult for me to talk about."

'Come on, you've got to give me more than that, bloodsucker!'

"There were two different times that I thought that," I said slowly, unsure if I really wanted to put myself into that place. "The first time, when I thought I could leave her…that was…almost bearable. Because I thought she would forget me and it would be like I hadn't touched her life. For over six months I was able to stay away, to keep my promise that I wouldn't interfere again. It was getting close – I was fighting but I knew I wasn't going to win; I would have come back…just to check on her. That's what I would have told myself, anyway. And If I'd found her reasonably happy…I like to think I could have gone away again."

I was lying to myself with that last statement, I would've always been waiting in the wings for her. It would've killed me to see her with Jacob, but I had to be near her. I'd already proved that it was literally impossible for me to survive if she weren't close by.

I continued. "But she wasn't happy. And I would have stayed. That's how she convinced me to stay with her tomorrow, of course. You were wondering about that before, what could possibly motivate me…what she was so feeling so needlessly guilty about. She reminded me of what it did to her when I left – what it still does to her when I leave. She feels horrible about bringing it up, but she's right. I'll never be able to make up for that, but I'll never stop trying anyway."

Even if it wasn't for the repercussions, I would still be utterly in Bella's debt for how quickly she forgave me, and there wouldn't be a day when my efforts to make up for the whole affair, would cease.

"And the other time – when you thought she was dead?" Jacob asked with difficulty.

His thoughts went back to vampire Bella.

'How did it feel…I mean, soon I'm going to have to deal with Bella's death whether I like it or not and I want to know how to deal with it…how much it will hurt. The second her heart stops beating…that thing she'll become...she won't be Bella anymore. It'd be better for her to be murdered and be buried in a tomb rather than that. Don't you see that by turning her, you're actually killing her? You should know how I feel, you thought she was dead once.'

I could see his point of view, but I didn't agree with it.

Carlisle and Esme weren't monsters, yet they were vampires. I didn't want this life for Bella, but she was determined to have it. I would personally make sure she didn't turn into a monster. There were ways to keep the thirst at bay.

"Yes. It will probably feel like that to you, won't it? The way you perceive us, you might not be able to see her as Bella anymore. But that's who she'll be."

"That's not what I asked."

Willing myself not to think of that time, I replied coldly, 'I can't tell you how it felt. There aren't words."

And there really weren't.

"But you left because you didn't want to make her a bloodsucker. You want her to be human."

I sighed, knowing this would be difficult to explain.

"Jacob, from the second that I realized that I loved her, I knew there were only four possibilities. The first alternative, the best one for Bella, would be if she didn't feel as strongly for me — if she got over me and moved on. I would accept that, though it would never change the way I felt. You think of me as a… living stone — hard and cold." More like ice. "That's true. We are set the way we are, and it is very rare for us to experience a real change. When that happens, as when Bella entered my life, it is a permanent change. There's no going back…

"The second alternative, the one I'd originally chosen, was to stay with her throughout her human life. It wasn't a good option for her, to waste her life with someone who couldn't be human with her, but it was the alternative I could most easily face. Knowing all along that, when she died, I would find a way to die, too. Sixty years, seventy years — it would seem like a very, very short time to me… But then it proved much too dangerous for her to live in such close proximity with my world. It seemed like everything that could go wrong did. Or hung over us… waiting to go wrong. I was terrified that I wouldn't get those sixty years if I stayed near her while she was human.

"So I chose option three. Which turned out to be the worst mistake of my very long life, as you know. I chose to take myself out of her world, hoping to force her into the first alternative. It didn't work, and it very nearly killed us both.

"What do I have left but the fourth option? It's what she wants — at least, she thinks she does. I've been trying to delay her, to give her time to find a reason to change her mind, but she's very… stubborn. You know that. I'll be lucky to stretch this out a few more months. She has a horror of getting older, and her birthday is in September…." I trailed off, not wanting to think of the inevitable future.

"I like option one," Jacob muttered.

I wasn't surprised.

It was the option that would benefit him the best. I only wanted what was best for Bella, but what was best for Bella and what she thought she wanted were two very different things.

Jacob continued talking when he noticed that I had nothing to say. "You know exactly how much I hate to accept this but I can see that you do love her… in your way. I can't argue with that anymore. Given that, I don't think you should give up on the first alternative, not yet. I think there's a very good chance that she would be okay. After time. You know, if she hadn't jumped off a cliff in March… and if you'd waited another six months to check on her… Well, you might have found her reasonably happy. I had a game plan."

'I would've found something new for us to do, something fun but not as dangerous as the motorcycles, and distracted her with that, then day by day I would slowly let her know how I felt about her. First with subtle clues and then one day I'd just flat out say it. Without you in the way it might have actually worked. She thinks you're a freakin God, or at least a king.

I chuckled.

"Maybe it would have worked. It was a well thought-out plan."

"Yeah. But…give me a year, bl —Edward. I really think I could make her happy. She's stubborn, no one knows that better than I do, but she's capable of healing. She would have healed before. And she could be human, with Charlie and Renée, and she could grow up, and have kids and… be Bella."

It was all I wanted for her…but I wished I could give it to her, not the stupid mutt. It would make me happier than anything else in this world if I could. But while I couldn't, the mutt could give it to her…sometimes I wondered if I were making the right decision.

"You love her enough that you have to see the advantages of that plan. She thinks you're very unselfish… are you really? Can you consider the idea that I might be better for her than you are?" Jacob said, for once not conceitedly, even though his words suggested otherwise.

I have considered it," I admitted. "In some ways, you would be better suited for her than another human. Bella takes some looking after, and you're strong enough that you could protect her from herself, and from everything that conspires against her. You have done that already, and I'll owe you for that for as long as I live — forever — whichever comes first…

"I even asked Alice if she could see that — see if Bella would be better off with you. She couldn't, of course. She can't see you, and then Bella's sure of her course, for now. But I'm not stupid enough to make the same mistake I made before, Jacob. I won't try to force her into that first option again. As long as she wants me, I'm here."

I sure as hell wasn't going to let him make the decision for Bella. If she wanted to be with me, then I wasn't going to let anything get in our way!

"And if she were to decide that she wanted me?"

The arrogance was back.

And this time it had raised to a level as high as the mountain summit we were on.

"I would let her go," I said simply.

"Just like that?"

He couldn't comprehend how someone could be so selfless.

When it came to Bella, I was capable of anything.

"In the sense that I'd never show her how hard it was for me, yes. But I would keep watch. You see, Jacob, you might leave her someday. Like Sam and Emily, you wouldn't have a choice. I would always be waiting in the wings, hoping for that to happen."

Well not quite hoping…I knew it would cause Bella immense pain if Jacob left her like that.

Jacob snorted. 'Yeah right, like I'd let that happen. That imprinting crap is a whole load of BS. Bella was meant to be my imprint! "Well, you've been much more honest than I had any right to expect…Edward. Thanks for letting me into your head."

It was an interesting conversation, excluding the fact that he knew all my insecurities now. I did owe him for what he'd done for Bella so I guessed that was my way of paying him back.

"As I said, I'm feeling oddly grateful for your presence in her life tonight. It was the least I could do…You know, Jacob, if it weren't for the fact that we're natural enemies and that you're trying to steal away the reason for my existence, I might actually like you."

Then again, I didn't think I'd be able to stand the smell. To humans, I supposed his stench was comparable to that of a rotting cabbage.

"Maybe…if you weren't a disgusting vampire who was planning to suck out the life of the girl I love…well, no, not even then."

I chuckled. His view on vampires could be quite entertaining. I wondered what the chief elders told the members of the reservation to make them see us like that. They knew we weren't the usual monsters that the film industry painted as to be, who slept in coffins or bore fangs, but they had some of the most vital facts wrong. Some of us still retained our humanity. Bella had to have heard about what the tribe thought of us when she was at the bonfire, perhaps she could tell me sometime. All she'd told me so far was something about a third wife…what the hell was that about?

I'd given Jacob far enough answers tonight and now it was his turn to give me some.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Why would you have to ask?"

Ha ha.

Either he didn't know the limitations of my ability or he was trying to purposefully irritate me.

I wouldn't put it past him.

"I can only hear if you think of it. It's just a story that Bella seemed reluctant to tell me about the other day. Something about a third wife…?"

"What about it?" he said, confused.

Not knowing what I wanted to hear, he replayed the entire story of the third wife in his head. At first I didn't get why Bella was so interested in the story…then the sacrifice part arose, and it all made sense.

I hissed.

"What?" Jacob demanded.

I sighed angrily. "Of course! I rather wish your elders had kept that story to themselves, Jacob."

"You don't like the leeches being painted as the bad guys? You know, they are. Then and now."

I was well aware of that fact; I hated the majority of my kind for what we did. You'd think he'd realise this after the discussion we'd just had.

"I really couldn't care less about that part. Can't you guess which character Bella would identify with?"

I didn't know if it was because it was of how slow the human brain was, or because it was just Jacob, but either way it took him a few minutes to get it.

"Oh. Ugh. The third wife. Okay, I see your point."

He could also see the problem it presented.

"She wants to be there in the clearing. To do what little she can, as she puts it." I sighed, wishing she would put herself first before anybody else for once.

"That was the secondary reason for my staying with her tomorrow. She's quite inventive when she wants something."

I repressed a smile.

"You know, your military brother gave her the idea just as much as the story did."

"Neither side meant any harm," I whispered, not wanting to cause any more arguments. I didn't want Bella to wake up to what could possibly be a very violent fight if it got out of control.

"And when does this little truce end? First light? Or do we wait until after the fight?"

I didn't think I could stand being civil that long.

"First light," we said simultaneously.

We both chuckled at our timing.

"Sleep well, Jacob," I said, signifying that I wished the conversation to end. "Enjoy the moment."

It was probably the wrong thing to say, as his thoughts went back to the disgusting avenue they had been in before, where he was imagining doing unspeakable things to the love of my existence.

I couldn't control the groan that slipped out. "I didn't mean that quite so literally."

"Sorry. You could leave, you know – give us some privacy."

It wouldn't matter how far I went, I would probably still hear his shouted fantasies.

"I can't even fucking sleep anyway because he's here, staring at me."

"Would you like me to help you sleep, Jacob?" I said sarcastically.

"You could try. It would be interesting to see who walked away, wouldn't it?"

"Don't tempt me too far, wolf," I warned. "My patience isn't that perfect."

He laughed. "I'd rather not move just now, if you don't mind."

His thoughts went back to the porno in his head.

Trying to block it out, I hummed the lullaby I'd written for Bella, hoping that thoughts of her would distract me from Jacob's disturbing ones.

It actually seemed to work for a while. I could still hear Jacob's filthy daydream in the background, but the bigger part of me was imagining Bella on our wedding day. I smiled slightly as I envisioned her walking down the aisle, wearing a dress of traditional white and blushing beautifully every step she took.

My daydream came to an abrupt halt when I remembered Charlie.

He wouldn't make this easy.

It was a good thing I was bulletproof, otherwise Bella might not have a fiancé any more.

I didn't think we'd have a problem with Renee, she seemed pretty happy for us when we visited her and her husband in Jacksonville, but I could be wrong.

Those were the only two people I was concerned about. I not only needed their opinion, but I wanted it.

I didn't give a damn about every other human in the town.

They could think all they liked.

I knew my family was ecstatic.

Especially Esme.

She had given up hope that I'd ever find my soul-mate, and now that I had, everything was right in her world as it should be.

The only person who came even close to being as excited as Esme, was Alice, and she was a whole other story.

She dreamed of a white wedding like I did, but Bella wanted a simple one. I wondered who would win that argument. If I had my way it would be Bella. Her wants trumped mine and as long as we were getting married, it didn't matter where, or who attended.

My blissful train of thought was interrupted when I heard Bella's voice.

"Edward," she mumbled.

I smiled.

Now the dog would really see who Bella dreamed of at night!

Perhaps the future was clearer than I thought.


I'm going to end it here because I'm Team Edward and going any further would be torture for me. I can't write about Edward's pain at Bella's betrayal because that would just be cruel, and you know what happens any way.

If you liked this one-shot then please tell me in the form of a review :)