A/N - A huge, huge thank you to everyone who reviewed. You guys rock :D. Also a big thanks to those who read, alerted and favourited. You guys rock also.

8

Hateful Gossip

8

Jake hates gossip.

Always has.

There's just something about people talking about other people, that he's never liked.

And with the gossip that's going around now, he hates it even more, because he doesn't know if it's true or not, doesn't know if he's just been played, or misinterpreted everything.

Sighing, he leans against the locker door, wondering if he could just run away from everything, all the confusing feelings, the confusing thoughts, the confusing, stupid alluring vampires.

"I swear," Jessica says, as she stops next to him, interrupting his internal rant and opening her locker, not paying any attention to him. "They're totally a couple."

"No way," Lauren replies, eyes wide.

"Way," Jessica answers, huge grin on her face. "Everyone says they're dating. She's always over at his house and he stares at her during lunch when she's sitting at the other table."

"How come everyone falls for Swan?" Lauren asks bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning.

Rolling her eyes, Jessica shoves her books into her bag, giving her friend a pat on the arm.

"Oh, please, like Edward is going to stay with her long," she says, before closing her locker and walking away.

A part of him jumps at the thought of Edward and Bella not being together long, before he remembers that Bella is his best friend, and he doesn't want her to be hurt.

Sighing, he runs a hand through his hair, wondering if everything he thought was just something he'd made up in his mind. Maybe the rose and chocolates were meant for Bella. Maybe he was supposed to give them to Bella from Cullen, and the reason his eyes had darkened when he'd eaten the chocolate was because the other boy had been angry.

And English class had just been … just been …

Nothing, he'd read too much into it, had been fooling himself.

He was an idiot.

Shaking his head, he rolls his eyes, grabbing his bag and heading towards the cafeteria.

He almost doesn't go in, but the others will hunt him down if he misses lunch. Jared can be annoyingly persistent and he wouldn't stop until Jake gave him something.

The other boy is amazingly good at picking when people are lying when he's actually paying attention to them.

As he walks in, he feels the intense gaze, his stomach flipping, before he reminds himself that Cullen doesn't like him, that it was just all an act, or a cruel sick joke.

He almost stops when the thought runs through his head.

It was all a cruel sick joke.

Snorting, he shakes his head, trying to ignore the aching feeling in his chest at the thought that Cullen was just playing him this whole time.

Well, screw Cullen.

Who needed a stupid, sparkly vampire anyway?

Grabbing food randomly from the line, he went and sat down, ignoring what the other's were talking about, using all his attention to eat his food, and not look at leeches.

"What the hell is your problem, Black?" Jared asks, punching him in the arm.

Glaring, he punches the other boy back, before going back to eating his food.

"Aw, is wittle Jakey jeawous?" Quil asks, before laughing, the other's joining in.

"Dude, if you want Bella, just ask her out," Embry says. "Stop all this damn moping."

He wasn't moping and he wasn't jealous. It wasn't like he was the one who'd been giving Cullen gifts. What did he care if the other boy was dating someone else?

"If it's any consolation," Kim says quietly, and he feels her gentle hand on his arm. "Bella and Edward don't look like they're dating to me. In fact, Edward keeps looking over here, and he looks … a little angry and hurt actually."

He can't help but look up, just a quick glance at the Cullen's table, but it's enough to see Cullen staring at him, and to see the big one, Emmett, he thinks, holding on to his arm, saying something quietly into his ear.

"I'm not hungry," he says suddenly, tearing his gaze away and leaving, feeling more then just his friend's eyes on him as he walks away.

Cullen staring at him meant nothing. Maybe he was angry and hurt because he thought Bella might choose him if Jake did ask her out.

That made sense. If he was dating Bella, then he'd probably be angry about that.

Nodding, he pulls his bag tighter onto his shoulder, before making his way outside and onto his motorcycle, starting it up and driving away from the school.

8

A/N - Okay, before you kill me, the next chapter will be up tomorrow some time. So you won't have to wait that long. Let me know what you thought :D