A/N: Hello! This is my fastest update yet! I really appreciate all the support I've been getting from you amazing people. 7 reviews! I'm really psyched about that because it tells me that you guys are actually reading my work which makes me very very VERY happy. Anyway, in this chapter we get to see just a peek of Gabby's past and a little 'moment' between Jake and Gabby. Sorry if Jake's dream is a little confusing or doesn't make sense…I was going for a surreal feel. Read and review? Thanks! -AniaCrimsonWolf
Gabby's POV:
It had been 3 hours. Sam and Emily had come back from their date and were now fast asleep. I sat on the backyard steps, hugging my knees in an effort to keep warm. I was shivering despite the three layers of sweaters and hoodies I was wearing. 2 am had come and gone and there was still no sight of my wolf. Just me, all alone, holding in my frozen hands a plate of medium rare steak.
Not that I expected anything better. After all, Wolfy was an animal. Even humans had trouble coming through for me so what made me think that a wild animal would be any better. It was like high school all over again… I sat on my porch steps, all dolled up, and my date never showed. A small voice at the back of my head wondered if something had happened to my wolf but another voice, reason probably, very politely told it how stupid it sounded. Everyone who I loved and trusted and counted on left and I set myself up for disappointment each and every time. In the end, everyone abandoned me and the thought chilled me more that the frigid wind ever could.
I closed my eyes and let myself drift.
Jake's POV:
The dream was the same as before, down to the very last detail. I called to her, hoping to make her change her mind. She could be reasoned with; I could show her I was so much better than him. She turned to me with icy brown eyes and suddenly I was drowning in the frosty depths of her rejection and hate.
The brown engulfed me, getting darker and darker till eventually, it turned black. I should have felt terrified but instead the colour brought on a wave of tranquility and suddenly the pain wasn't so bad anymore. The black receded like waves on a beach, depositing me safely to the sandy shores of First beach. The liquid black drew back, getting sucked into pits of warmth set in an elfin face. Not the pallid face with the pale lips but the rosy, bright face with a single-dimpled smile. Gabby.
I woke up with a start drenched in sweat with one word echoing in my head over and over again. Gabby. She was supposed to be waiting for my wolf-form. I tried to convince myself that she would have enough sense to go inside once she realized her wolf was going to be a no-show but I had a horrible feeling, tugging at my gut. What if Gabby had waited? Knowing her, she would have fallen asleep outside.
Panicking, I pulled on a hoodie and sprinted out, into the woods, towards Sam's house. I pictured her lithe, waiflike form lying outside, vulnerable and all-too trusting and fear for her safety propelled me faster. I got to Sam's house in record time and ran to their backyard. Looking around, I saw a thick bundle lying on the stairs leading into their kitchen and my heart froze. Please let her be asleep, please let her be asleep.
I walked over to the bundle and noted with some relief that she was breathing but her lips were taking on a distinctly blue tint and her cheeks and nose were bright red. I pulled off my hoodie and laid it gently on her. My dead heart thumped a beat when I saw her snuggle into my hoodie.
I could hear Sam snoring softly upstairs so I picked Gabby off the floor being as gentle as I could and walked back into the house. She was lighter than I expected and up-close, her huge eyes had dark circles under them.
I was in her room now and I laid her gently down on her bed. The entire room smelled golden and happy, just like her.
Gabby's POV:
The first coherent thought I could form was something along the lines of "Wow, it's warm. Someone got a space heater"
My eyes snapped open when I felt myself being gently laid down into my bed. I saw the back of tall, broad shouldered person padding around my room doing their best to be stealthy. I couldn't feel my lips but I really wanted to make conversation so I said the first thing that popped into my head.
"You're not a space heater"
The huge figure turned around swiftly, startled. I saw it move towards me and I reached out with numb fingers and flipped on my bedside lamp. The warm, yellow of the lamp illuminated a familiar face with a chiseled jaw and cropped black hair. Jacob. A very amused looking Jacob.
"Glad you noticed, Gabriella" he said with a half-smile. Just a small spasm of his cheek and the lifting of one side of his lips.
I sat up in my bed, trying to smooth out my wild hair and get my lips and fingers warm again.
"So, do you make it a point to sneak around people's rooms at night?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant. This of course earned me a complete smile but it didn't exactly touch his eyes.
"Well, I don't make a point of it but sometimes a boy's gotta do what a boy's gotta do and I had to save you before you became a popsicle." He said with a twinkle in his eye.
I suddenly noticed that my plate of steaks was nowhere in the room so I got out of bed and slipped on my bunny slippers and that's when I realized the hoodie I was wearing was several sizes too big and I was almost swimming in it.
"Is this yours?" I asked, honestly curious.
"Yes it is. Do you want to hold on it? As a souvenir, maybe?" Jake replied, a smirk on his face.
I narrowed my eyes at him and stuck out my tongue but pushed the sleeves of the hoodie up so that it was till my forearms. Jacob just watched with an amused smile on his face. An amused smile that turned into a small frown when I started towards the door. All of a sudden, I found the door being blocked by an almost 7 feet tall frame of pure, lean muscle.
"Where do you think you're going?" He asked politely.
"I'm going downstairs to get Wolfy's steak" I replied, equally polite. His frown deepened and created furrows between his eyebrows.
I calmly placed my hand on his arm, ignoring how warm it was, and gently pulled him towards me so I could make my escape. He stepped closer, almost as if it was a reflex, so that our toes were flush against each other. Now that I was so close, I could feel the warmth rolling off of him in waves. Our eyes met and immediately his widened. His arm tensed under my hand and for a second all I could think of was kissing those incredibly adorable lips and erasing the sadness from his roasted-chestnut eyes. Fortunately for me, the second passed and the haze in my head cleared long enough for me remember what I was supposed to be doing.
I pulled my eyes away from his and sidestepped so that I was behind and had direct access to the door. I was about to make my escape when I realized he hadn't moved yet, probably out of shock. I was afraid he would start hyper ventilating so I gave his arm a forceful tug downwards which jerked him out of his statue-like position. Once I was satisfied he wouldn't collapse or crack if he hit the floor, I turned around and fled to the backyard.
The cold hit me as soon as I stepped out of the door, attacking my nose and cheeks and I hurried to the lawn and picked up the freezing plate with the steak. I turned around and jogged back towards the kitchen where Jacob was leaning against the door-frame looking surprisingly good with messy cropped hair and a smirk that yelled bad-boy. The only thing he needed to complete the look would be a leather jacket. His eyes were boring into mine, as if he was trying to see into my soul.
I ignored it and walked past him, into the house. I dug out a roll of cling wrap and wrapped the plate of steak. I could still feel Jacob's eyes staring holes into my back as I walked to the fridge to keep the steak. As soon as I was done, I turned and faced him with my roll of cling wrap in my hands, in case I needed to defend myself.
"Why are you staring at me Jacob?" I asked. His face took on a muddled look, his eyebrows swooping downwards and his head cocked to one side. The resemblance to Wolfy almost made me smile.
"I don't know" he answered, honest confusion reflected in his eyes before he looked down. His face changed abruptly, as if someone had thrown a switch. The confusion was replaced by hurt and anger and just like that, the Jacob that resembled Wolfy disappeared and the angry boy I had seen the first day reappeared. The change surprised me and I literally flinched when he turned his harsh gaze on me. Something about my face must have given away my shock because his eyes softened and his tense jaw relaxed. He walked up to me and gently took the cling wrap that I had forgotten about, out of my hands and placed it on the table.
When he was done, he turned and started walking towards the front door, surprisingly quiet for such a huge guy. Something about the defeated slump of his shoulders made me want to hear about his story so I did something that would have done Oprah proud.
"Jacob, I can tell you're depressed and that all the shit in your life has hit the ceiling and ruined your previously not-so-bad life. I'm not asking you to talk about it but how about I make some hot chocolate and we can sit down and I'll tell you about everything that is wrong with my life. Maybe you'll feel a little better?"
I almost didn't expect him to turn around but something about my use of 'shit' or the promise of hot chocolate or maybe even the sadistic need to hear someone else's problems must have changed his mind because he blew out a gust of air, turned around and brought out two mugs from Emily's cabinet. He turned to me with a ghost of a smile and haunted eyes.
"Are you making it or should I?"
