"So, is Forks driving you insane yet?" -Jacob Black, Twilight
Guess I'm just a loser, then.
Those were Jacob's thoughts as he walked away from Kim, the girl from his English class, who had just turned down his offer of going down to First Beach that weekend.
"Sorry, Jake," she'd said. And she really did look sorry. "But I'm kind of busy on Friday."
Right, thought Jacob. Busy washing your hair, or something. He kicked a pebble that was lying on the sidewalk off into the weeds. His gaze followed the path of the pebble as he heard a gaggle of girls walking behind him, whispering fervently.
"Ohmigod," one said. "Did you hear about the car accident that happened down in Forks?"
"Yeah, I heard one guy got scraped up pretty bad," whispered another.
"Pretty bad? I heard he had to go the hospital!"
"I wonder if anyone died."
"I hope not!"
When the girls passed him, their conversation turned to a more magazine-tips-oriented direction. Jacob rolled his eyes. The people here were way too preoccupied with the affairs of the people down in Forks. Though he did wonder idly if anyone was seriously injured, those thoughts were overruled by the ones that reminded him he was doing nothing for the weekend. Again. Quil was still grounded for getting bad grades, and Embry had to babysit his cousin.
When he got home Billy was waiting for him at the front door. He was wearing a grave expression.
"What's up?" Jacob asked, slightly concerned.
"You know Charlie Swan?"
"Of course I do." Chief Swan was practically part of the family.
"Well, his daughter is in the hospital. Some sort of accident happened at school."
Jacob's interest was piqued. "You mean Isabella? I didn't know she was in Forks again."
"Yeah, apparently she's staying for good this time. Something about her mom remarrying. Anyway, her injuries are pretty minor, maybe just a concussion, but I think we should drop in to visit. It would be a good time to introduce yourself, too. I don't think she remembers you as well as Rachel and Rebecca."
"Sure, why not," agreed Jacob. He'd still be bored this weekend, but at least it was something to do today.
"Great. Let's get in the car. You can drive." Billy tossed him the keys from the counter top and wheeled himself outside. Jacob clutched the keys and grinned. Today was turning out better than he thought it would.
Hospitals always made Jacob uneasy. Something about the blinding white walls, the smell of sick people, and the attempting-to-make-people-more-comfortable pictures of flowers on the walls.
"Here's her room," said Billy. Her room was at the end of a very long hallway on the third floor. When they entered her room she appeared to be sleeping, her dark hair splayed out across the pillow, but her eyes flew open once they were closer to her bed. There was a bed next to her holding someone who looked about five times worse than her.
"Billy?" she said.
"Yup, Bella, it's me. And this is Jacob. I'm not sure if you remember him or not." Jacob smiled and waved. Bella returned the gesture shyly. "We just came by to see how you are."
Bella let out a huge sigh and rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. They just did a CAT scan and nothing was wrong, so I should be getting out soon."
"Good to hear, good to hear. Did we miss Charlie?"
"He's probably out grabbing something from the vending machine. I swear, he's making this a bigger deal than it is. I really should be able to go back to school now," she complained. Jacob thought it was funny how she wanted to go back to school. Any normal person would've loved to get a day off.
"Hmm, I think I'll go find him. Wait here, Jake?" Jacob nodded, even though he would've preferred to go with Billy. He felt kind of bad leaving the girl all by herself. She looked incredibly bored.
"So," he began once Billy was out of the room. "You've come to Forks at last."
Bella grimaced and began to sit up. "Yeah, that's right."
"Woah, should you be doing that?" Jacob asked.
"Look, even the CAT scan said nothing was wrong with me. I think I'm allowed to sit up." Stung by her words, Jacob said nothing. He looked down at his feet and mumbled a 'sorry'. Bella sighed.
"Ugh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. It's just that I really don't want to be here. I hate hospitals."
"Yeah, me too. Looks like we share something in common." He grinned at her, and she offered a weak smile back.
"Looks like we do. So how are your sisters? Rachel and Rebecca?"
"Well Rachel got a scholarship to Washington State, and Rebecca got married to a Samoan surfer. She's living in Hawaii now." This seemed to surprise her.
"Wow," she breathed. "Married, huh?"
"Yeah, pretty crazy, right? Seems like a lot of people are getting married these days. Like Leah Clearwater, this girl who lives in La Push, is getting married in June. And she's only, like, eighteen." Jacob didn't know why he was telling this girl all of this. It's not like she knew who he was talking about, or cared for that matter. But she seemed absorbed in the conversation, and it felt almost freeing to talk to her. Comfortable.
"Holy crow, that's only a year older than me! By the way, how old are you?"
"Um, fourteen. But I'm turning fifteen like next week," he added quickly.
"Jacob," called Billy from the doorway, interrupting Bella as she was opening her mouth to speak. He turned away reluctantly and saw him in the doorway with Chief Swan, who smiled at him. He smiled back. "Let's let Charlie have some time with Bella, okay?"
"Sure, dad." He turned back to Bella. "Nice meeting you, Bella."
"You too, Jacob," she said, grinning.
And that grin was the only thing Jacob could think about all the way home.
