Chapter 4: A Marshmallow World

A/N: Hey you people! So this chapter is mostly just filling Charlie in and building some other things. I plan to post another chapter tomorrow if I can get a review or two at least :) Help a sista out! Tell me how I'm doing! 3

We drive past my house, but Charlie's cruiser isn't there. It's only about noon, so I ask Jake if he would mind waiting in the truck while I run in to Newtons to get an application. He has no problem with it, so I drive towards town. On the way, I call Charlie on my cell.

"Hey Bells! Everything ok?" he asks distractedly.

"Yeah, Dad! Hey, when are you going to be home? You were asleep when I left this morning, so I thought you would still be there now," I tell him.

"I got called in to the station. Someone found another hiker dead. Are you alone? If you're alone I want you home," he says worriedly.

"Jake is with me. I'm heading to Newtons to get an application, actually. I am going to try to get a job, and Mike said he'd put in a good word for me."

"You know you don't have to work, Bells. School is your job. I don't care how old you are. If you're in school, you don't need to work," he says. Always the traditionalist.

"I just want some extra spending money, Dad. I know you would give it to me if I asked. But I also think that getting out of the house to do something productive will be good for me. I won't get the job if you really don't want me to, but I am not only doing this for the money."

"Ok, Bells," he says, and I know I've hit a soft spot. He doesn't want me going backwards. "Go ahead and apply for the job. I need to replace the tires on your truck though, if you're going to be going up that hill to the store. No, don't argue!" he says, when I try to tell him I will be ok until I get the money. I know better than to say anything else, so I let it go. He loves me, and this is me, loving him.

"Thank you, Dad. Will you be leaving work soon? I need to talk to you about something else," I say, trying to sound upbeat and not at all too serious.

"I should be done in about 20 minutes. I'll meet you at the house?" he says it like a question. "Will Jake still be with you? Maybe he can stay for dinner, we can catch a game until then or something."

"He's going to stay for a little while, but he has to get going. He has a DATE tonight," I say, looking over at Jacob and waggling my eyebrows.

"Well good for him! I'll see you in a little while, Bella," he says.

"Sure, Dad," I answer, hanging up. "Jacob, you never did tell me who you were going on a date with..." I look over at him expectantly.

"I'll talk to you about that later. Right now, you need to go get your application. Feel free to fill it out. I heard Charlie say he wouldn't be leaving for another 20 minutes. It's snowing out, and us wolves run at a toasty one-oh-eight. I'll be fine," he smiles.

"Thanks, Jake," I pull up in front of the sports and camping equipment store and look in the mirror. I don't quite look like I've had the best day of my life. I look tired.

I can see that Mike has noticed I pulled up. No one else has a truck like mine here. I walk in and he's waiting by the door.

"Bella! Hey! Have you come to apply for the job? Your skin doesn't say that you spend much time outside, so I doubt you are here to buy equipment!" he chuckles at his little joke. I stop myself from rolling my eyes.

"Yep, I'm here to fill out the application!" I smile winningly. I hope. It seems to work, because Mike is looking at me like I'm chum and he's a shark. Yay. Sigh. "Who do I need to meet? Can you give it to me?"

His eyes get big and he chokes back a laugh. Yes. Hilarious. I really should think before I speak around some people. I laugh a little like I think it's funny, too, and follow him as he turns and walks towards the front desk, which has an open door behind it.

"Wait here," he says, and goes into the door. A man that I'm assuming is his dad walks out and smiles brightly at me.

"So you are the chief's daughter, Bella Swan? I've heard a lot about you. My name is Jim, I'm Mike's dad. It's very nice to meet you," he says, offering his hand.

"Nice to meet you, too, sir," I say with a smile on my face. I've never smiled so much in my life. My face is going to be sore. I take his hand, gingerly. I'm a bit awkward in handshakes, but I do my best and try not to take my hand back too quickly. "I came to inquire after a job. Are you hiring right now?"

"Well it is winter. We do have some people who camp in winter, but there aren't a whole lot. We do need someone to watch the store for a few hours one day out of the weekend and one night a week. It probably won't be more than 10 hours a week. If you are agreeable, you can fill out the application and I will just call you hired. Mike speaks very highly of you."

"Wow, thanks, Mr. Newton!" I assented. He wrote down the days I would be needed on a piece of paper, and told me to just bring the application back when I returned for my first shift, which was Sunday evening, two nights from now.

Walking towards the door, Mike runs and catches up to me. "Hey, uh, can I talk to you really quick?" he asked.

"Sure, Mike, what's up?"

"So, I was wondering if you are free tonight? I was thinking, maybe a movie?" he hedged.

"Well..." I start to think of a way to reject him without being mean. I have to work with him. But... Well maybe a date is a good idea. Normal life, right? "Um, ok, sure. Yeah. I'm good with that."

"Awesome! I'll pick you up around 5? We can get a quick bite to eat before."

"Yeah, ok! See you then," I smile.

I head back to my truck and see Jacob sneering towards Mike. "What a marshmallow!" he roared. He seemed to get a real kick out of it. Getting in the truck, I look over at him, and his eyes widen. He hoots loudly, "Holy shit! He just fist pumped! What did you do to him?"

"I agreed to go out with him tonight," I mumbled. "And I got the job," I beam.

"You... You did what?" he asks, and his face falls. He looks disappointed. Sad, even.

"He asked me to the movies. Where are you going on your date?" I try to remind him that he's going to be busy tonight, too.

"We're going to the movies, too. This is our fifth date... I, uh... I guess I'll at least be able to keep an eye on you while we're both there. If we're not in the same movie, I'll still be able to smell a leech in the building."

"Fifth date? Where have you been keeping her? Who is this mystery girl?" I had a thought and said, "Oh, is it Harry's daughter?"

"Nope... Actually, it's a friend of yours. Um, Jessica."

"Jessica," I repeat. "Jessica Stanley? You're dating Jessica Stanley? Class President, highest GPA, Jessica Stanley is dating badass wolfboy Jacob Black. You're kidding me."

"We're not so different, she and I," He smiled and shrugged his shoulders, looking slightly mollified. He was worried that I would be upset. That's why he avoided my questions about this, earlier.

"So, have you, YOU know," I whistle as I make a hole with my finger and thumb, and put my finger from my other hand through it. I wiggle my eyebrows up and down, trying to hide my real feelings about this situation. "I thought for sure she thought you were obnoxious!"

He laughs at me, looking a tad embarrassed. I've never seen this look on Jake, and it's totally endearing. He shrugs again and opens his mouth. He closes it again and looks down.

"I'm not so sure I should talk about this with you, Bells," he stammered. "The wolf wants what it wants. Even if the heart wants something different." With his eyelids lowered, he gazes up at me through his lashes and my heart skips a beat.

"Charlie is probably home by now. We should head back," I blurt out.

The ride home was mostly silent, and when I pulled up, the cruiser was in its spot in front of the house. Walking in, I noticed Charlie sitting in the La-Z-Boy like usual. Charlie is a creature of habit.

"Hey guys! What did you want to talk about, honey?" he asked.

"Well, I found out about the wolves today, Dad. And I got a job. It's been a big day. Yay me," I say sarcastically. I wait for Charlie's reaction, but he doesn't really have one.

"Yeah, that was bound to happen, I guess," he shrugged, no hint of surprise on his face. He looked at Jake and asked, "Has she seen you phase yet? Man, that's a trip! It's so crazy!"

"Are you kidding?" I almost shout. "You couldn't clue me in on this? Did you have any idea that the Cullens were vampires? I was dating a VAMPIRE, Dad. I know crazy." There. That's the reaction I expected.

"What the HELL?!" he screamed. If I hadn't known that he is human, I would have thought he was about to phase, he was shaking so hard. "You knowingly put yourself in danger, and you want to be upset with ME about not sharing a secret with you that wasn't mine to share?! He could have killed you, Isabella!" I have never seen Charlie this angry, and it's scary.

"It wasn't MY secret to share, either, and now I'm in danger again, Dad," I start, stepping back to give him some room. Not because I'm scared, but because his voice is SUPER loud right now and I can't deal. Thanks, anxiety. Jacob is standing quietly beside me, and he steps forward now. He starts explaining to Charlie about what is going on, and how they are going to keep me on the Res to try to keep me safe. They are going to accommodate my dad, too, and he will stay with the Clearwaters, if he is ok with it, of course. There will be shifts of wolves on the perimeter round the clock, and Jacob will be available to me at all times, my personal watchdog. I smirk a little at his wording.

"Ok. So Bella will definitely be better protected on the Res than anywhere else I can put her. I'm good with that. But I don't want to put out Harry-" he begins, but Jake interrupts him.

"Charlie, really. You are putting no one out. These people are your friends and want you safe. Please pack up some stuff guys, I'm supposed to have you back by 4. Bella and I have a date, and we need to get ready," says Jake.

At this, Charlie's eyebrows shot up, and his mouth opened. A much bigger reaction than that to the news of me finding out about the pack.

"You guys are dating now?"

"Oh, no, he misstated that, Dad," I explain. "We both have dates, with different people, at the same place. I am meeting Mike here, so I actually need to go back with Jake, wait for him to finish getting ready, and he will have to follow me back here since I can't be alone. Jake, do you think you can get Jess to just drive to my house and maybe we can carpool to save gas?"

Charlie starts laughing about halfway through my explanation. He is roaring, slapping his leg, and holds his finger up in the 'wait a minute' gesture, trying to catch his breath.

"Mike?! Mike Newton? That marshmallow?" my eyes narrow a little as Jacob joins in on the laughter.

"That's what I said!" he chuckles with Dad.

"Bells, I have to be honest," he says, wiping his eyes, "I never thought you'd give that pansy a chance. And Jake... Jessica. I can see that. She's actually a great girl. Maybe not your type, really," Charlie's eyes flicked over to me subtly. "But I can see it. Ok, you kids have fun with that. I'll start packing, and you should, too, honey. Oh, by the way, I made that appointment for you with the therapist. You go in Monday at 4, so you don't have to miss school."

"Thanks Dad," I sigh and roll my eyes.

I walk up the stairs and Jacob follows me, and sits on my bed. As I am shuffling around trying to pack up, I trip and fall directly onto Jake, and he catches me on his chest. His breath is warm on my face, and I think that maybe, I won't stop him if he tries to kiss me. Maybe, this is how it's supposed to be. I close my eyes and lean in, and pull back immediately when I hear Charlie stomping up the stairs. I shake my head quickly, breaking the fog that had invaded my thoughts. Jacob's arms slacken and I stand up.

When I finish packing up, it is around 1. If we leave now, we won't have to rush, so I go to tell Charlie that I would check in on him later at Harry's. I'm staying at Jake's tonight, so I will call. He assents and gives me a kiss on my head before I walk out the door. Jacob is silent the whole time, tells Charlie bye, and climbs into the passenger side of the beast so we can head to his house. He looks contemplative on the ride over, and I don't want to interrupt him because I know what this is. It's just not the right time. Mike is easy. Jake... He won't take a fun, simple date. Jake is a forever guy. Jake doesn't deserve broken.

Hope you like it! Don't forget to review, follow, favorite, just let me know that you like it or even what you don't. I'd really like to post another chapter tomorrow, but I have a fundraiser so it will be later on in the evening. Watch for it! Thanks for reading! :D