Looks like this one turned out shorter than I'd intended it to! It is a kind of inbetween chapter though, and I will endeavour to update with a more substantial chapter tomorrow!


Chapter 7

Pups and Precipitation

When Bella awoke the next morning, she was surprised that she had managed to sleep through the night. She couldn't remember dreaming about Edward at all. She couldn't remember dreaming about anything. She frowned at the thought.

She checked her phone for missed calls or unanswered texts. She had none. She wondered if Edward had lost her number, but then remembered that he knew it by heart, and being a vampire, he would never forget it. He also knew her house number, so could always call her that way. But he hadn't.

Bella sighed and dragged herself into the bathroom. She almost forgot about her leg cast when she showered, and it got a little wet. Luckily, the water wouldn't do much to it, but it was still too cumbersome for her clumsiness to bear. She would be grateful when Carlisle could change it for something smaller. The cast was just another reminder that her human frailty had caused the whole situation.

The story that Carlisle had told her mother, about her taking a tumble down some stairs, was certainly plausible. Her mother knew all too well about her clumsiness. She had once broken her arm, simply by tripping over her own foot when she was younger. Unfortunately, the fabricated stair-tumble story was exactly that; a lie. It would certainly have been easier if it was true. Edward would no doubt still be around. Even he couldn't blame himself for her lack of grace.

She threw her wet hair up in a towel and gave her teeth a good scrub, hoping to banish her morose thoughts to the back of her mind. No one knew the real reason Edward had left, and she had to practice her own cover story for when Jake came over. He and Edward didn't know each other, but she was also a terrible liar, and knew that he would spot her weakness if she didn't at least attempt to convince herself of Edward's innocent trip to look for colleges. She knew the lie wouldn't convince people for too long, but she couldn't think about that now.

She didn't eat much breakfast, and spent the rest of the morning watching boring daytime television. She wondered how jobless people could sit and watch such drivel all day. She could almost feel parts of her brain dying as she watched, and was grateful when she heard a knock at the door.

She hobbled to answer it and was greeted with Jacob's smiling face.

"Hey! I brought snacks and movies. I wasn't sure what you wanted to do," he said, his arms loaded with bags.

"Oh, come in. Just set them down on the coffee table," Bella motioned, stepping to one side so he could pass.

In his haste, he dropped the lot on the floor beside the couch. Luckily, there were no bottles to break.

"Wow. Anyone would think you're as clumsy as I am," Bella said as he hurried to pick up his haul.

Jake smiled sheepishly and sat down, clearly hoping to hide his embarrassed blush.

Bella let him pick an action movie and they sat in comfortable silence. They munched on the snacks, and Bella was grateful for the distraction.

After the movie, they sat and talked. The subject of her accident came up, and she told him the story she had been practicing in her head. He had laughed and said he would happily bet on her having two left feet.

"Well, since my right is the one in the cast, I can't prove otherwise," Bella said.

"Only you, Bells. Any news on when it'll come off?"

"Dr. Cullen said I could have a smaller one replace it sometime next week. I can't wait. I hate this thing. I can't wear my jeans. Just stupid sweat pants or loose trousers. Alice keeps trying to get me into a dress," Bella said, shaking her head.

Jake blushed at the thought of Bella in a dress. He'd never seen her in such feminine clothes before, and he dearly wondered if she would look as magnificent as he could imagine she'd look.

"Maybe you should just give in?" he said.

"No! If I do that, I'll end up being her living Barbie doll," Bella replied.

When Jake opened his mouth to speak, her phone beeped. She whipped it out of her pocket a little too fast and nearly dropped it.

It was a text from Alice.

~Coming over later. Your dad's working late.~

"Something important?" Jake asked, eyeing her phone as she put it back in her pocket.

"Oh… no. Just my dad. He'll be back late. Listen, Jake, I'm getting a bit tired. These painkillers make me drowsy sometimes. I think I should lie down," Bella said, shakily getting to her feet.

"Oh, of course. Maybe we can do this again later in the week?" he said, trying to keep the hope out of his voice.

"Sure, I'll call you," she said, shuffling over to the door.

"Okay, well, bye Bella. I hope you feel better."

"Thanks for the movies and food," Bella said as he left.

She felt bad for lying to Jake, but she really did feel a bit overwhelmed with normality. It felt wrong to her, to simply get on with her life as though nothing was wrong. She'd been attacked by a vampire, the vampire's mate was still at large, and would no doubt come looking for revenge at some point, her boyfriend was missing, and she had no idea if he ever planned to come back. Could she really just start her final year at school in September without people noticing Edward's absence? The questions would be endless. She'd already told Angela that she couldn't go to the Prom. Angela had been concerned that she would miss such an important event, but Bella really wasn't in the mood to go alone with a broken ankle, and without a date.

As the afternoon turned to evening, a light rain settled over Forks. Not that Bella was surprised. It reflected her current mood perfectly. She hoped it rained on the night of the Prom. For a depressed and selfish moment, she hoped it would be a total washout.


A/N: I hope I got the level of puppy love right with Jake! Since this is taking place at the end of the first book, he is not yet a Wolf. I plan for this story to span the length of New Moon, and maybe even Eclipse. Of course, the events of Breaking Dawn will pretty much not happen, since Bella won't be with Edward.