Title: The Best Of Times: A Lifetime in a Day
Chapter 8: Apparently There Are Bears And Is Mono Just Contagious Or Like, Contagious, Contagious.
Rating: T, for language I guess. If the rating changes, you'll be the second to know.
Disclaimer: I don't own any aspect of Twilight and all its proceedings, they continue to belong to Stephenie Meyer.
Summary: Ava Swan never expected to move to Forks, Washington permanently. Then again, she never expected to be imprinted by a hot-headed shapeshifter. Eventual Paul/OC. No Bella-bashing. Follows New Moon (mostly). There's no way I can make this sound original, ever.

Notes: This is mainly an OC-insert story into the films, meaning the Paul/OC will take a backseat for now!

Kagz419: He is, isn't he? I swear, I love Embry with all my being haha his smile is so adorable. Ahhh, thank you for reviewing!

first full edit: 07/20/2019


"I did see something in the woods." Angela insisted, staring at Eric who nodded slowly, "...totally. Baby, I believe you.

Jessica scoffed and looked up from her lunch, "no, he doesn't. He's just trying to get lucky."

You rolled your eyes at her answer and Eric laughed; untwisting the cap on your drink, you took a large swig seeing Bella enter the cafeteria. Grabbing your water bottle, you moved it onto your tray to ready yourself to sit with her.

"No, okay," Angela continued, "it was jet black and huge. On all fours, it was still taller than a person."

"A bear, maybe?" You suggested, glancing at Angela quickly, "there are bears around here, right?"

Mike pointed at you, nodding his head, before gesturing at Angela with his water bottle, "...or an alien," he offered, "you're lucky you didn't get probed."

You held back a look of surprise when you saw Bella begin walking towards the group; she managed to catch your eyes and you sent her an encouraging smile. Shifting over to give her room to sit, you signaled Jessica to the oncoming guest. Jessica gave her a tight smile, and you elbowed her pointedly when you noticed that she didn't bother keeping it up and replaced it with a clear frown.

Bella played with the hem of her sleeve as she made her way closer, speaking quietly toward the group, "you know, you're not the only one. Um," she gave you a nervous look before resuming, "my dad's been getting reports at the station." Everyone continued to stare at her strangely.

"That's true," you added, relieving some of the tension, "yeah, I've peeked at a few of his files. It's weird."

You patted the open space between you and Mike, Bella lowering herself down, "like, five hikers have been killed by some bear. But they can't find the bear," Bella continued.

"Hmm," Angela said thoughtfully, looking at her boyfriend expectantly.

Eric laughed awkwardly, eyes shifting from you, Mike, and Jessica chastisingly, "...last time you clowns doubt my girlfriend."

You rolled your eyes playfully, and turned towards Mike who was coughing pointedly.

"Um…" he started lowly, turning away from Eric's overdramatic showers of affection to Angela, and in Bella's direction, "so, I mean, Bella's back?" He asked hopefully.

Bella chuckled softly, "yeah, I guess so."

"Alright," Mike clapped quietly once, "that's. Well, welcome."

"Um," he continued, holding his chin with his palm nervously and lowering it to speak, "...so, listen, now that you're talking and, uh...eating again, which, you know, you've got to get that protein in there," he said, poking at her upper arm.

"Um, I was just wondering if wanted to go to a movie with me." He rushed out.

Keeping the surprised look from your face, you looked at Bella to wait for her answer.

Mike had always bugged you to talk more about her, ever since Edward left town he seemed to think he had a chance to get a date with her. You managed to keep him from asking her out for a while, reminding him that he had a girlfriend. Jessica Stanley, with the current sour expression on her face. And then reminding him that Edward just left and Bella would need some time to herself.

Bella smacked her lips together quietly once and glanced at you, "...yeah. Sure," she said after a few seconds, "yeah, I do."

"Cool," Mike said casually, "let me see, we could check out, um, 'Love Spelled Backward is Love'?" He searched Bella's face for any indication that she wanted to watch that film before continuing, "...you know, it's a dumb title, but it's a romantic comedy. I mean, it's supposed to be pretty…"

Bella sighed out and he stopped talking, looking at her expectantly as she spoke, "no. Not romance."

Mike looked at you for help and you jumped in, "um, that one action one is out? Um, Sucker Punch? Or, Punching Face? What was it?" You asked, turning to Bella.

"Face Punch," she nodded, "how about it? Have you heard of that?"

He stuttered out, "I mean," he rested his head on his face and gestured towards you with his other hand, "that's an action movie."

"Yeah, that's perfect," Bella stated, "um, guns, adrenaline."

"That's her...thing," you added, chiming in again. You knew Mike obviously wanted a romantic film, but at this point Bella going on a date with any other guy didn't seem like such a bad idea.

"Okay," Mike nodded. You took a swig of your water.

"We should get a bunch of other people to go," Bella insisted, patting your shoulder causing you nearly choke, "do you guys want to go see Face Punch?" She glanced at the rest of the table; you were about to protest and suggest that just Bella and Mike go, when Eric yelled out excitedly, "Face Punch, yeah!"

He gestured to Mike, "Mike, hey, we were supposed to watch that. Remember the trailer's like," he feigned explosions and continued in a dramatic voice, ""punch faces.""

"Yeah," Jessica muttered sarcastically, looking down at her salad in mock excitement, "movie night with Bella."

You opened your mouth to speak when the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. Once everyone was out of earshot, you smacked Bella on the shoulder and whispered harshly, "what is wrong with you? Mike likes you…he was asking you on a date date. Just you and him, not with the whole," you motioned discreetly to the group in front of you, "entourage."

"I know he was," she said, "but I don't really want to go out with Mike. And you're coming this Friday, you have to."

"No," you insisted firmly, "I'm not."


Needless to say, you found yourself at the movie theater Friday night.

You shifted from foot to foot and kept an eye on Mike and Jacob who were speaking a few feet away. You had forced Jake to come with you, insisting that this would pay you back for losing that wrestling match with Quil. You figured he would alleviate some of the impending boredom you were expecting; but, a few minutes with observing the two boys, you knew it was going to be a long movie.

So far, Jessica hadn't arrived and neither had Angela and Eric.

Your phone lit up with a message and you frowned, internally groaning and leaning against the side of the building for support.

Jess:

Can't make it tonight. Dog got sick, sorry babe!

Jessica didn't even have a dog.

Bella walked up to you after she left the ticket booth and brandished four tickets, "I didn't know what time Jessica was getting here so I just got four," she explained, handing you one.

"Well, Jessica isn't coming," you informed, examining the ticket.

Bella nodded slowly, "Eric told me Angela has the flu, so they're out."

"So, it's just us four..." you said unenthusiastically, moving towards the boys, "great," you muttered under your breath. You really weren't in the mood to juggle both Mike's and Jake's feelings towards Bella.

"Jessica bailed, and Angela got the stomach flu, so Eric's taking care of her," Bella announced, glancing between the guys, "it's just us four."

Jake nodded, excited, "great!" And Mike choked out, "great."

Bella nodded awkwardly and grabbed your upper arm to lead you inside quickly. The movie itself was a nightmare, guns and shooting weren't your kind of thing and you found yourself sandwiched between Mike and Bella, Bella chaining you beside her.

Mike wasn't entertained either, rubbing at his eyes and shifting repeatedly in his seat. When you got up to use the restroom, upon returning, you saw that Mike had moved one seat over and was now seated on Bella's other side.

She had a wide-eyed look on her face and mouthed "help", before you shrugged helplessly and moved to Mike's other side. He muttered some BS excuse about seeing the screen better when you sat down. You almost snorted aloud when you noticed that both Mike and Jake rested their hands on the armrest, basically begging Bella to grab one.

Glancing up at the screen just as someone blew another's head off, you scrunched up your nose. Mike couldn't handle it, because he glanced at you, looking sick, "...okay, I think I'm gonna throw up," he gasped out and quickly stood up, running out of the aisle.

You gave both Bella and Jake an exasperated look before heaving yourselves up to follow him out. You shoved the door open that led into the hallway, as Mike rushed into the restroom.

"He's…" Bella said, trying to explain the enigma that was Mike.

Jake scoffed, "what a marshmallow. You should both hold out for someone with a stronger stomach," he suggested jokingly before continuing, "someone who laughs at the gore that makes the weaker men vomit."

"Please let me know when you find one," you clasped your hands together in mock desperation as Bella laughed softly, "Yeah, we'll keep an eye open for that."

You threw your hand in the direction of the restroom, "I'll wait out here for Mike."

"Don't go falling in love," Jake teased as they passed you, walking towards the stairwell. You rolled your eyes and replied in overdramatic infatuation, "I make no promises."

Stopping for a second to examine a poster for an upcoming movie, you cast a glance at the pair just as Jake grabbed Bella's hand casually.

Bella let go and continued speaking, as if nothing happened. You tried your best not to eavesdrop but in the end, being you, you lost that battle.

You inched forward slowly only catching the end of their exchange, "...Jacob, please, don't do this," Bella sighed out and she moved past your line of sight, sitting on the stairs blocked by the ledge.

"Why?" Jacob said, genuinely confused, and Bella's voice reached your ears, "because you're about to ruin everything. And," she paused, "I need you."

"Well, I've got loads of time," Jake mentioned, "I'm not gonna give up."

You slightly admired Jake's ability to pine after a girl who obviously wasn't ready to enter a relationship; despite that, you weren't sure when exactly Bella would give him something.

Imagine your surprise when Bella answered, "I don't want you to, but it's just 'cause I don't want you to go anywhere. You and Ave, I need you both to...to keep me sane. And I know that's really selfish," she said breathlessly, "you know, I'm not like a car that you can fix up."

You thought she finished speaking but you heard her again after a few seconds, "...I'm never gonna run right. So, I should be fair to you."

Seeing Jake tense up before he spoke, "it's because of him, right?" He moved away just as Bella did, making it much easier for you to stalk closer behind the wall of the stairwell.

"Look," Jake said, "I know what he did to you. But, Bella, I would never ever do that. I won't ever hurt you. I wouldn't hurt Ava. I promise. I won't let you down…" you strained to hear the last of what he said, but you couldn't move farther than the ledge.

It was silent for a few seconds and you almost gave yourself away just to see if Jake had leaned for a kiss.

Unfortunately, someone clasped their hand onto your shoulder and you shot up to reveal yourself. Bella and Jacob both looked at you and Mike, questionably, "well," Mike sniffled, noticing the pairs' close proximity. After a few seconds, he announced, "...I need to go home."

"That, uh, sounds great," you said sheepishly.

Bella gave you deflated look and Jake had shifted his gaze, staring off into the distance intensely. He turned after a beat to give Mike an annoyed look; Mike leaned onto the ledge casually and explained himself, seemingly just as annoyed, "I was feeling sick before the movie. Okay?"

There was a few seconds of an awkward silence and Mike was at the end of his patience, "...what is your problem?

"Right now? You're my problem," Jake admitted before mocking him, "feeling sick? Maybe you need to go to the hospital." He suddenly shot up and Mike backed up a few steps as Jacob got in his face, "you want me to put you in the hospital?"

Furrowing your eyebrows in surprise and confusion, you quickly grabbed Jacob's arm, "Jake, calm down," trying to pull him back in vain, Bella ran to his other side, "Jake! Jake. Jake, the movie's over. What are you doing?"

You didn't notice anything wrong at first, but when Bella voiced, "you're really hot," you felt the heat radiating off of him. You squinted at your hand and then at his face, "Jake, you're really really hot."

Hearing Mike scoff silently, you continued, "you're sick. Like, 110 fever sick." Pressing a hand onto his forehead, you nearly gasped out loud at the feeling.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked, and Jake looked down, your hand falling from his face.

"I don't know what's happening." He choked out, breathing heavily, "...I gotta go."

He shrunk away from yours' and Bella's holds on his arms and strode towards the exit.

Your frown deepened and you followed him a few steps, grabbing his elbow, "Jacob."

He turned around quickly and gave you a forced smile, "I'm fine. Just...I'll see you tomorrow?" He didn't wait for an answer and gently pried your fingers from him. Staring at his retreating back for a few seconds, you whirled around to face Bella and Mike.

Mike shook his head, "that dude is weird."


You and Bella only spoke briefly about what happened that day and you came to the conclusion that Jake had come down with something, probably a cold or the flu. You opted not to bring up the conversation that her and Jake had before they were interrupted.

The following day you made your way to Jacob's house, expecting to see him in his garage working on the Rabbit. Not even a cold could keep him from it in the past. After seeing that the garage was empty, you marched up to the front door and grabbed the knob expecting it to turn easily.

Billy never minded you waltzing into the house. You developed that habit when you were younger and never really grew out of it.

You frowned after jiggling the knob a few more times, why was it locked? Billy and Jake only locked the door at night, or if both of them were leaving. I mean, this was Forks, nothing ever happened. You knocked on the door a few times, waiting a minute before sighing.

If Jake was sick, why wasn't he home? You thought, taking a step backwards and preparing yourself to head back home and try some other time. When the exact same thing happened day after day, you began to worry.

At this point you had called both Jacob and Billy, only Billy answering and saying that Jake had come down with mono. You asked Bella if she knew anything more, only shrugging and replying that she had no idea.

"Mono?" You deadpanned, "that's like saying, 'he doesn't want to talk to you, leave us both alone,'" you insisted to Charlie on one rare afternoon where the three of you were together in the living room. Bella was seated on the floor near your feet and you were laid across the couch, only your face visible and covered by a mountain of blankets.

Charlie rolled his eyes at you before turning back to the game on the TV, "Ave, I think what it means is, he has mono."

You tapped Bella with your foot and gave her a pointed look, "Bella, don't you have anything to add."

"He…" she drifted off before shrugging lightly at you innocently, "...has mono?"

"Ugh," you groaned, sitting up the best you could with the amount of weight on you, "you're both hopeless. Jake hasn't been home in, like, a week and a half. I don't know much about mono but isn't that plenty of time to get over it?"

You knew that Bella had continuously left him voicemails, asking what was going on. She was worried and expressed her restlessness to you about the situation; after that, your worry was replaced with slight anger. Why would Jake talk about 'not leaving her' and then do exactly that, without so much as a phone call to explain that he was sick?

And what about you? He said he'd see you the next day but he had been wiped off the planet. You couldn't even count how the amount of times he'd beg you to come over to keep him company because he had a sniffle. And now he supposedly had mono, and you hadn't received a single call or text.

"Ava, stop stalking the Blacks," was all Charlie said in reply and you glared at Bella when she snorted before turning back to her homework.

"I'm trying to help," you insisted, "if he does have mono, then why isn't he home? Why isn't he answering the door?"

"Maybe the fact that you're the one knocking speaks volumes as to why he's not answering."

You ignored Charlie's statement, and continued, "I think something weird is going on."

"Isn't it getting a little too late for your...this?" He waved vaguely your direction.

You frowned and shoved the blankets off, standing up, "it's like two PM." Striding over to the stairs, you went up a few before calling out again, "if Jake actually has mono then he should be grateful that I'm bothering to visit."


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Incorrect Quote(s) of the Chapter:

Jacob: Could you ever see us as being more than friends?
Bella: Yes, I'm glad you asked.
Jacob: That's wonderful, I-
Bella: I can totally see us as cats.
Jacob:
Bella: Hang on, let me find the picture I drew.

.+.

Mike, inwardly: Don't let her know how awkward you are.
Bella: Nice weather.
Mike: Thanks.