Previously…

"She'll get over it."

He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "When are you going to realize that Bella is losing her patience with you? One of these days, she's going to stop coming to you for anything. And when that day comes, something tells me you're going to regret it."

"Bella and I have been friends for years, Emmett. I don't think this one little incident is going to do anything."

"Maybe not yet," He agrees. "But one day."

Yeah. Right.

Chapter 6

December 2004

Jasper

Bella is still furious. I don't know why. I try to apologies at any chance I get. So what if Emmett and I followed her on her date? Is it really such a big deal?

Apparently yes.

Because she is still angry.

With Christmas coming up in a week, I am still struggling to find a gift for Bella. The problem with Bella is she is a very picky person. You can never please her.

I nudge Emmett, who is watching the hockey game. "Have you found a Christmas present for Bella yet?"

"Nah. I think I'll just get her a gift card with an obscure amount on it."

"Will Bella even want that?"

"Probably," He says. "She kept telling Charlie that she wanted to get a couple of new books. I doubt he's even considered anything."

"Has Bella said anything about forgiving us yet?"

He shakes his head. "Nope. Bella is furious with us."

"Has Jacob even come by?"

"He's coming over for Christmas." Emmett says. "Charlie invited the Blacks over."

I blink and look at him. "How come I wasn't invited?"

"Because we all know you spend Christmas with whatever girl you have." He says.

"I resent that!" I hiss. "Why does everyone assume that I sleep with girls on Christmas?"

"Because you do," Emmett says. "Jazz, everyone knows that Kristina broke your heart on Christmas. You hate it because of that reason so you use girls and then do the same thing to them."

"That's ridiculous."

"Keep telling yourself that, Jazz."

Bella comes into the room, glaring at the both of us. Bella's anger is never something you want to see. She gets really feisty and snappy. I don't have it as bad as Emmett, thankfully. When Rosalie found out what he did, she placed a sex band until she was convinced he learned his lesson. And when it comes to Rosalie, you never know when it will end.

There is a knock on the door. "Emmett, will you get that?" Bella calls from the kitchen. "It's Jacob."

I hiss. Why is Jacob here? "I'll get it." I say when Emmett doesn't get up.

He nods, giving me a knowing smirk.

I stand and go to answer the door.

"Hello, Jasper." Jacob says when I open the door. He is dressed in a large parka and black boots.

"Jacob." I say disdainfully.

"Is Bella here?"

I nod. "Bella," I shout up the stairs.

She comes running down the stairs. I hold out my hands, expecting her to fall like usual, only to be disappointed.

She runs to him and throws her arms around his neck. He chuckles and swings her around. Bella whispers something in his ear and he laughs.

"Emmett, tell Dad that Jake and I will be home late."

"Will do," He says. "Be careful, Jake."

"I know, Emmett. I would never let anything happen to Bella."

"Good."

They smile and Bella slips into her boots before leaving with Jacob.

"You are so jealous." Emmett snickers.

I roll my eyes and walk to the kitchen to make a sandwich.

Bella

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is one of my favourite parts of Christmas. It is the day that we all get together and tolerate each other. It is also the day that we exchange gifts.

Usually, Jasper and Rose come to our house for Christmas Eve because they spend Christmas day with their family and doing whatever rich people usually do on Christmas.

My anger with Jasper is beginning to vanish. I am still pissed at him for what he pulled but I know he was just trying to protect me.

We lie in the living room, stretched out on the floor. My head rests on Jasper's stomach, my legs intertwined over Rosalie's.

Emmett is telling a Christmas story from a couple of years ago as Jasper strokes my hair. The gentle strokes of Jasper's hand and the soothing tone of Emmett's voice is lulling me to sleep.

"Don't you dare go to sleep Isabella Swan." Rosalie punches my leg and it jerks.

"Rose! What the hell?"

"You were dozing off." Jasper says. "We have yet to exchange gifts."

I roll my eyes. "I'd rather go back to sleep."

"You could." He agrees. "But then I'll be forced to tickle you until you cry mercy."

I sit up and stare him straight in the eye. "You wouldn't dare."

Jasper raises an eyebrow. "Try me."

We stare at each other for several moments. "All right!" I groan. "Fine,"

"Can we open presents now?" Emmett whines.

"Yes, Emmett. Jeez, you're so impatient." Rosalie scowls.

I giggle and lean against Jasper as Rosalie stands and grabs the presents. She hands them out. I look at the gifts. Emmett rips open the wrapping paper before we can say anything. "Aw, Jasper, you shouldn't have."

I look up. Emmett is holding the giant nurf gun I knew he could appreciate.

"Aw, Jasper. Why would you get him something like that?" Rose groans. "Are you trying to drive us crazy?"

Jasper shrugs and smiles widely. "He likes it, doesn't he?"

Rosalie pouts. I open my first gift from Rose. It is a certificate for a weekend spa. "Rose, you shouldn't have." I lean across Jasper and give Rose on the cheek. "Thanks, I'm going to need this."

"I figured you and I could go before the New Years Eve ball. We need a chance to relax."

I nod in agreement. "Looking forward to it,"

I put the certificate aside and Jasper hands me a small box. "This is from me, darlin'."

I smile and rip off the wrapping paper. I open the lid and gasp. Inside is a necklace. It is a white gold, heart charm toggle necklace. The letters TLW is engraved on one side while my initials are engraved on the other. "What does TLW mean?" I ask, looking at him.

"True Love Waits."

My heart flutters. "Why did you have that inscribed?"

"I didn't." And then it plummets. "It was already there when I bought it."

"Thanks, Jasper. I really love it." I kiss him on the cheek and pull away from Jasper. My heart can't take anymore rejection. I go and sit on Emmett's lap. He is used to this. I used to do this all the time when I was a kid. Emmett notices the sadness and wraps his arm around me.

"You alright there, Baby Bells?"

I smile and nod. I lean my head back on his shoulder and watch everyone have fun while my stomach churns.

Jasper

Watching Bella move away from me and go to Emmett is hard. I don't know what I did to upset her but when it comes to her, I never do.

Females are simply strange. There is no reasoning with them.

I watch Bella's face as everyone enjoys opening the presents. She smiles but I don't see the usual spark in her eye.

Rosalie eyes Bella. They have a silent conversation, one only females understand, before Bella shakes her head and sighs.

Her eyes flicker to me so fast I don't know if I actually saw it.

I sigh and turn to Emmett. He is dying to play the new video game that Rose got him. Bella is still sitting in Emmett's lap, laughing as he tries to explain to her what it's about.

"Emmett, this is hopeless." Bella laughs.

"That's because you're not paying attention."

"Regardless, I don't really care." Bella smiles and kisses him on the cheek. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

I should feel bad about eavesdropping but I don't really care.

"For everything. I know you were just trying to protect me. That's what makes you such a great big brother."

He looks at her seriously. "I'll always be there to protect you, Baby Bells. You know I love you."

She nods and smiles. Bella snuggles back into his arms and sighs happily.

"All right, kids." Charlie says, coming inside. "It's getting late and I know your parents want you home before Christmas morning."

Rosalie sighs. Charlie kisses her on the forehead. "Drive safe."

"We will." I follow Rosalie outside. I turn and watch through the window. Bella is sitting beside Charlie, watching as Emmett attempts his first try with the new video game. Charlie says something and Bella laughs.

"Strange, isn't it?"

I turn to look at Rose. "What?"

"We have so much more than them in terms of money and connections yet they have everything I want."

"What's that?"

"A family." She turns to look at me. "Look how close they are to each other. The way they laugh and spend time with each other,"

I watch as Bella rests her head on Charlie's shoulder, laughing as Emmett groans.

"Don't… do anything stupid, Jasper. Don't lose what you have."

Her words don't register until after she's gone.

What did that mean?

Bella

Christmas Day

Emmett jumps on me the next morning. "Wake up, Baby Bells."

"Emmett?" I groan. "What time is it?"

"Five thirty."

"Fuck, Emmett. Why the hell are you waking me up this early?"

"It's Christmas morning."

I raise my head and look at him. It looks like he hasn't even been to bed yet. "How long have you been awake?"

"I never went to bed."

Figures. "What about Charlie?"

"He's already up."

"What is it about you two and getting up freakishly early?" I groan.

He grins. "Can we open presents now?"

I pout. "Give me five minutes." I say. "Next time, wake me up with coffee."

"Will do," Emmett kisses my cheek and bounds down the stairs.

I chuckle and head to the bathroom. I brush my teeth and wash my face before shuffling to my room to get my robe. Once warm, I go downstairs to see Emmett shaking each of his gifts, trying to find out what he got.

"Stop it, Emmett. Just wait five minutes." Charlie says.

"But Dad…"

"I'm here, I'm here." I grumble, sitting on the couch next to Charlie. He hands me a mug of coffee, which I gratefully accept. "Thanks Dad."

"Now can we open presents?"

"So impatient," I tease.

Emmett sticks his tongue out at me and passes us our presents. Since we're not the richest family, we each only give one gift to each other.

"All right," Emmett opens his first gift. He crows in delight when he sees it. Surprise, surprise, it's another video game. Charlie knows him so well.

"Thanks Dad." Emmett smiles widely. "This is awesome. You know me so well."

"That's because you voice everything." I say.

Charlie watches with a twinkle in his eye, a soft smile on his face. Charlie nudges me. "Go on, Bells. Open your presents."

I laugh and open the first gift from Emmett. I get the feeling that he got Rose's opinion on it because he got me a dress. I know it had to be for the New Years Eve party. "Thanks Em. I love it."

"You sure?"

I nod. "It's great."

We watch Charlie open his only gift. Emmett and I decided to get Charlie something together. He grins widely when it's opened. "You two both got this?"

We nod. "We figured you'd like it more than two separate gifts." I say.

Charlie runs his hands over the new fishing rod and looks at us. "Thanks, Bella. Emmett." I lean into Charlie as Emmett opens his last gift. I got him an automatic toy truck. It was a mini version of his jeep.

"Oh, Bella. This rocks. Thank you."

"Glad you like it."

"It's your turn, Bells." Emmett says.

I open the last one. Inside is a charm bracelet. There are four different charms along the chain. "Thanks Daddy. I love it." He takes it from me and I hold out my wrist.

"I'm so proud of you, Bella."

I smile and nod. "I better start making dinner."

They laugh.

***

The Blacks come later that evening. I am just finishing up with the turkey when Jacob comes in. "Hey, Bells." He kisses me on the cheek.

"Hi." I smile.

"How's the turkey coming?"

"It's… coming." I laugh. "It's almost finished." I say.

"That's good." He says. "I'm starving."

"Well, can you set the table for dinner?"

"Certainly," I point him to the cupboard and he takes it out.

Five minutes later, I am calling everyone to dinner. "This looks great Bells."

"Let's eat."

***

After everything is washed and put away, we go and sit around the living room. Jacob and I sit on the couch while Emmett sits on the floor, playing with his truck. Charlie and Billy are talking about a fishing trip they want to take when the snow melts.

"Why does Emmett insist on acting like a child?"

"Because it's who he is. When we were kids and Charlie and Renee fought, Emmett would try to keep me occupied by telling stupid stories. Emmett just tries to keep me happy."

"Whatever happened to Renee?"

"She lives in Phoenix." I say. "She doesn't call us unless she wants something. She had a drug issue when she was still with Charlie. That's why they kept fighting. We went down to visit her over the summer because she managed to convince Charlie that she was clean."

"And?"

I shook my head.

"We shouldn't be talking about this on Christmas." I say.

Jacob snickers. "That's probably true."

"So tell me Bella, how do you feel about Jasper?"

I stiffen and look at him in astonishment. "What?"

"I see the way you look at him. You're hopelessly in love with him."

I sigh. "Is it really that obvious?"

"No. I just know you well."

"How is it someone who's known me only a couple of months can see the truth when the person I've known for seven years can't?"

"It doesn't always make sense, Bella."

"I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Tell him the truth, Bella."

"But what if he doesn't feel the same way?"

"At least you will know for sure and get closure from it."

"When are you seeing him next?"

"The New Year's Eve Ball in Seattle."

"Tell him then, Bella."

I smile and rest my chin on his shoulder. "Thanks Jacob."

I know it's late. I hope you like it anyway.

Next up: New Years Eve ball… there will definitely be some fireworks.

Review please and tell me what you think.