Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 9

Bella sat at the table and ate her bowl of yogurt with oats and strawberries as she listened to Renee fussing with Charlie. Her mother was still upset with him for cutting her hair short. She had explained that she wanted Charlie to do so but her mother was still adamant about fussing with her father over it. Charlie was currently doing what Bella herself often did when Renee got worked up over nothing: ignoring her.

Once she finished her light breakfast she put her bowl in the sink before heading back upstairs to grab her book bag. Her parents had suggested that she stay home to recover from her chemo session from the day before, but she didn't want to. She was determined to not let her cancer keep her from going to school.

Bella entered her room and slipped her feet into her shoes and tied them before taking her medicine, and then grabbed her book bag before leaving her room. She stopped by the bathroom first and looked at herself in the mirror for a moment. She didn't look any different except for her obvious haircut, but she herself thought she saw slight dark circles under her eyes. Bella let out a sigh before grabbing her headband and slipped it into her hair, watching how it pushed her hair from her face. She could remember the last time she wore it; she had been dating Edward and he didn't like it in her hair and preferred her hair not pinned back, so she stopped wearing it to please him. A scoff escaped Bella's mouth as she thought of how stupid she had been for dating the self-righteous asshole. She smiled at herself in the mirror before heading back down the stairs.

"I'm going!" Bella called to her parents as she slipped her jacket on.

Charlie appeared from the living room with a cup of coffee in his hand and smiled saying, "Alright then, have a good day at school."

Renee stepped up beside of Charlie and said, "Yes, have a good day sweetheart. And don't be shy to hang out with friends after school if you want to. Especially that handsome Jacob Black."

"Mom," Bella said in exasperation, though a blush appeared on her face.

Charlie shook his head before waving after his daughter as she grabbed her keys and hurried out of the door. He listened to her truck roar to life and waited until Bella had completely left the driveway before turning to face his ex-wife. Looking down at her he asked, "Did you have to say that to her? I don't think Bella is looking for another boy to date right now."

Renee placed her hands on her hips and asked in return, "Don't you think Jacob and Bella would make a perfect couple?"

"Of course I do, and I'm rooting for them to realize they have feelings for each other, but it won't happen with you pushing it."

"If I don't push it, it will never happen. I know our daughter; she's just like you so I know when I have to step in. I had to push you to ask me out when we were younger because you were too stubborn to do so. I can't believe you made me make the first move."

"I was working on it!"

"No, you weren't! Now go to work before you're late."

"I'm the chief of police; I can go when I please."

The auburn haired woman rolled her eyes and walked away, leaving Charlie standing in front of the door alone. She didn't care what Charlie said, she was making it her mission for Bella and Jacob to become a couple at least by Thanksgiving. Unless they did so on their own, of course.


Bella walked to her locker and spun the lock on it, putting in her combination before opening it. While she was exchanging her books Angela walked up to her and gave her a grin.

"Look at you!" Angela said. "You've cut your hair!"

"Yeah, I know," Bella replied with a smile. "Do you like it?"

Angela nodded and answered, "I love it. I haven't seen it pinned back in a while. It suits you and I bet Jacob will think so, too."

Bella blushed and said, "I actually sent him a picture of it and he replied that I look beautiful."

The two girls giggled softly as Bella finished getting her books and closed her locker. Walking to their homeroom together Angela said, "I wonder what Edward will think when he sees you."

"Who cares? He's dead to me," Bella replied.

Angela laughed as they entered their classroom and sat at their desks while waiting for class to start. Jessica quickly made her way towards them to talk with Bella about her haircut before telling them about how she and Mike were going to see a movie later that night. Bella rolled her eyes at the news, knowing that it was part of the cycle he and Jessica were in. They'd date, then they wouldn't date; Jessica would pine for Edward and Mike would try to get Bella to go on a date with him. Then they would get back together and the cycle would start all over again. Bella preferred to stay out of it and deal with a relationship of her own, though she wasn't in one.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out seeing that she had a text from Jacob. Opening it she read what he had sent, a smile coming to her face before she typed a reply. Just as she put her phone back in her pocket, her teacher entered the classroom and began roll call. And as she waited for her name to be called, Bella couldn't wait for lunch hour to roll around.


Jacob leaned against his motorcycle in the student parking lot of Forks High School, waiting for Bella to come out. He had invited her to have lunch with him in town and she had agreed much to his excitement. He was really happy to be able to see and spend time with the brunette. Of course he worried about her now that he knew she had cancer, but he refused to treat her any differently than he had before, knowing Bella wouldn't want nor like that.

The sound of the school bell rang, alerting him that it was now lunch time for Bella. Students began to exit the building that was planning to eat off campus. Many of them looked at him wondering who he was, most of them females that were smiling and giggling like idiots while ogling him. He was wearing a black t-shirt that allowed his muscular arms to show and defined his muscular pectorals, blue jeans, and black tennis shoes. His black hair was cropped short on his head and he his tanned skin seemed to glow in the sunlight that shined through the clouds.

Jacob's brown eyes finally saw the one person he was looking for and they lit up at the sight of her. He smiled as Bella made her way over to him before wrapping his arms around her in a hug. If both of them were aware of the many people staring at them, they ignored it. Pulling away he said, "Hey Bells."

"Hey," Bella replied, though she thought it sounded like she breathed it out.

Jacob grinned before lifting a hand and touching Bella's now short brown hair. He ran his fingers through it for a minute before pulling his hand away. Looking down at her he asked, "Are you ready?"

Bella nodded and allowed Jacob to get on his bike before she sat on it behind him. Wrapping her arms around him from behind she asked, "Is this safe?"

"I got here on it, didn't I?" Jacob asked before revving the engine.

"But what about helmets?"

"Don't have any."

"But Jake- Whoa!"

Jacob had suddenly taken off, affectively cutting of Bella's complaint and was soon speeding out of the parking lot. Once he hit the main road he drove on towards a diner. It wasn't the usual one he knew Charlie went to, but it was just as good and he knew Bella would love it.

While Jacob was wrapped up in his own thoughts, Bella was holding onto her friend for dear life. His sudden take off had scared her and Bella was afraid to take her face out of the strong, firm back. She couldn't help but berate Jacob in her mind for being reckless enough to ride around on a motorcycle without so much as a helmet. However, she couldn't stop the feeling of excitement of being on a motorcycle and feeling the wind in her hair.

It wasn't long before Jacob pulled into the parking lot of the diner and stopped the bike, killing the engine. Looking over his shoulder he asked, "Are you alright, Bells?"

Bella nodded and breathed out, "Yeah."

"Awesome. Now let's go eat," Jacob said before getting off of the bike, and then helping Bella off of it as well. They entered the dining establishment and were seated at a table for two. A waitress gave them menus before taking their drink orders and walked away. As she looked at the different food choices Bella decided to speak.

"So what made you want to have lunch with me today?"

Jacob looked at the brunette and smiled before saying, "I'd have lunch with you everyday if I could."

Bella blushed and hid her face behind her menu, ignoring Jacob's amused chuckle. She knew he had said that on purpose and it still made her flustered. It wasn't long before the waitress came back with their drinks and took their orders of food. It wasn't lost on Bella that the waitress was flirting with Jacob and she couldn't help but feel annoyed by it. The damn waitress kept asking Jacob if he wanted anything else when he repeatedly kept answering 'no'. Finally having enough of the persistent waitress Bella said, "If you're done here, take our orders to the cook. We don't have all day to stick around here just so you can flirt with an underage boy. Now step and do your job before I report you for not doing it."

The waitress looked very put out from the sudden confrontation and she flushed in embarrassment while glaring at the brunette before turning around and practically stomping away. As soon as she was gone Jacob burst into laughter. Through his laughter he looked at Bella and said, "You don't know how jealous you sounded just now."

"I was not jealous," Bella replied crossing her arms, though she felt her cheeks heat up. "I was just getting annoyed that she wasn't making haste to deliver our food orders and wanted to make googly eyes at you. And her doing it shamelessly in front of me was disgusting."

"Sounds like jealousy to me."

"It wasn't."

"Deny it all you want, Bells. But I'm happy to know that you are my friend and like me enough to be possessive."

Jacob winked at her as he took a sip of his beverage, chuckling again when Bella blushed and looked away from him, grumbling under her breath. He had to admit he liked Bella, maybe even more than a friend, and he enjoyed spending time with her, even tease her a bit. He wasn't oblivious to the fact that he and Bella might possibly have limited time together if her condition worsened more than it already has, so he was going to treasure every moment he had with the brunette.

A different waitress, a middle aged woman, brought them their plates of food a little later and they both dug into their lunches. They talked the whole time, enjoying each other's company. Bella couldn't help but smile as Jacob enthusiastically told her about an internship he got at a car shop in Port Angeles. She was happy for him that he was able to get an internship in his passion, not to mention that it was also paid as well. Her chocolate brown eyes observed him and took in every detail about his handsome face. She felt her heart beat a bit faster than it was as she looked at him, causing her to look down at her food for a moment so she could calm her heartbeat. Bella had a feeling as to why her heart began to beat like that while she was looking at her friend, but she decided to ignore it.

Before long they had finished eating and Jacob paid for their food before they left. Bella had insisted she pay for her own plate, but Jacob insisted on paying. They left the diner and climbed back on Jacob's motorbike before heading back to Bella's school.

When they got there, Jacob rode Bella right back into the parking lot before stopping it so she could get off. Bella turned to Jacob and smiled before saying, "Thank you, Jake. I had a good time."

"No problem. Let's do it again sometime," Jacob replied with a grin.

Bella nodded and hugged the younger boy before pulling away. Just as he was about to ride away she called out, "Jake, wait!"

Jacob turned to her and said, "Yeah?"

After a moment of hesitation Bella said, "We can hang out later today after school, if you want to of course."

A smile spread on Jacob's face and he nodded before saying, "I'll see you later."

Bella watched him ride off on his bike and out of site headed back to his own school before turning to walk into her own school, intent on finding Angela. She had promised to inform her on how lunch with Jacob had went, while also telling her that she was just nosy. Even so, Bella couldn't help but smile as she thought of her and Jacob hanging out more later that afternoon.