Greetings! My other story "The Elasticband Theory" is coming to a close and I would love some feedback on my last few chapters as I post them up. Please read the whole story, baring in mind that the first chapters were the first I ever wrote, so be generous with your comments as I hope my writing has improved since then.

Now for the Nessie files, you have been patient waiting for this chapter and I thank you all very much. Here it is…

(oh yeah… I don't own twilight or "A house is not a home")

Chapter 10

A room is not a house and a house is not a home when there's no one there

NPOV

I don't think we have left the bed for anything other than shower sex and for food, which we eat in bed. It might be construed as unhealthy to most people. It's like the honeymoon stage a couple goes through just after they get married where they are so consumed by their love and the lust. Of course, Jake and I aren't married… yet, but we are as committed, maybe more than a married couple. I can't shake the euphoria from my system. It is intoxicating and exhilarating and if the rest of my existence is like this then I can't wait to experience it.

We are enrolled in the high school starting in the fall as juniors and that has left us with a mere 2 weeks to enjoy life to the full before we are faced with homework, maintaining a social life and still having time to visit the family. Alice and Rose insisted we come twice a week for dinner. We eat dinner and they watch while we chat about trivial topics.

I had just arrived back from the grocery store with enough food for the next week, since we exhausted our supplies, leaving only bottled water.

"Baby, I'm home!" I shouted, attempting to attract Jake's attention. He came in from the garden, dripping wet, almost causing me to drop the brown paper bags in my arms.

"Hey," he said, passing me to reach a glass from the cabinet. I didn't know what to do. He was there, wet, in nothing but swim-shorts, and I couldn't stop thinking about his cute naked ass.

Luckily I had chosen to wear a pair of tiny shorts and a button-down top this morning, which would make my plan much easier to execute. I unbuttoned enough of my top to reveal my ample cleavage and bent over the island in the middle of the kitchen, sticking my butt out.

"Jake," I said as seductively as humanly possible. He turned, dropped the glass and dived after me as I ran up the stairs. I heard the glass shatter as I reached the top step and hurtled myself onto the soft comforter. His body landed on top of me, trapping me to the bed with no way of escaping. He locked his strong arms around me and just lay still, holding me to him. I felt like a security blanket or a favourite teddy, like if I was missing he would notice and it would be a significant loss. Of course I know this is true already but it is nice to really feel needed sometimes.

"Ness," he whispered softly in my ear before taking the lobe between his teeth.

"Yes," I replied inquisitively,

"What do we do at school?" He was serious. I didn't really understand. He obviously knew the purpose of school was to go to class and learn and eventually graduate with the intention of going to college or acquiring a job, so what was he really asking?

"What do you mean?" I replied, worried.

"Well, do we tell people we live together without parents? Do we tell people we intend to get married after high school? How do we separate our time between friends and us? These are all pretty important things to have sorted and we haven't even discussed them and we start school in less than two weeks."

Right, I had no idea we had so much to decide and consider. Our living situation was pretty unorthodox and our relationship was at a rarely serious level for a couple of our age in human terms as sophomores.

"Well," I began thinking out loud, "We don't tell them we live alone. We ask Alice to check every morning to see if a friend will come over and one member of our family will come and play the primary caregiver. You will, I'm sure, go out for sports, so you will be with your friends for games and practice and I guess lunch? We could go out for the same classes and sit together in class. I will see my friends at lunch and I intend to go for the glee club and any music societies, so I will spend time with friends then. After school we will be here and we will see each other then and if there is a party we go together. The other kids will notice how tight we are, so we can't really hide how serious our relationship is. And if some skank tries to hit on you I will probably kill her, so maybe we should just play the couple thing by ear." I giggled at Jake's face, which was stunned at the rate I solved all of his problems.

"I can still kiss you in the hall though, right?" I asked playfully.

"Only if I can jump you in the boys' locker room. We can show the jocks that haven't got any yet a thing or two."

"You are a temptress," he teased, tickling me and making me squirm.

"You know you love it, baby." I winked and pulled me under the covers.

JPOV

The first day of school is hard for everyone. That's a given. All you can think about is making sure you aren't the loner that no one talks to or the geek that people mock and throw slushies on. You want to be the popular kid that everyone wants to be; the guy that other guys get tips from about picking up girls because they are all over you in the hall 24/7.

I don't care so much about the girls. I have the best one that none of them could compare to combined, but being wanted by girls and being good at sports is what gets you into the popular crew. I'm good at football and basketball. I have the brawn and the speed for football and the height for basketball. I have the looks for the girls. I theoretically should be covered. What I lack of in brains I make up for having a superhuman girlfriend who can tutor me as long as necessary. But somehow, I am still nervous.

Walking down the corridor hand-in-hand with my amazing girlfriend was a great feeling. Kids, trying to figure out if we were new or not, were staring in awe; we are a pretty pair. The woman in the office was having trouble forming coherent sentences, but nevertheless, we walked out with identical timetables and headed off to our first class together. We sat in the two empty seats at the back. Every so often a student or two would turn their head to try and catch a glimpse of us. Ness and I ended up spending most of class trying not to laugh out loud at the absurdity of our fellow classmates' behaviour. At lunch we sat together for what we agreed was the only day this year we would plan to sit together alone. I could barely eat for checking that no other guy was trying to make a pass at my woman. I never realised how insecure I am about Ness. I am the one with unwavering devotion and the inability to see any other girl as anything more than a friend. Ness was with me out of choice, a choice she could easily take back.

After school had finished, I went out to football tryouts while Ness decided to go out for cheerleading. She's very… flexible, so I'm sure she will get in without having to put in much effort. I, myself, walked onto the team with my impressive tryout; being a wolf sure has upped my stamina and strength.

Ness and I met in the parking lot following our respective trials, having both made our teams.

"Hey baby, I made it!" Ness called from the other side of the lot and ran into my arms, wrapping her legs around my waist.

"Me too!" I replied kissing her and then setting her down on the tarmac.

"The girls were amazed when I did a triple back flip and landed in the splits, I'm almost certainly going to be the main gymnast on the team. Leah, the captain, even mentioned with my obvious years of experience and talent, I might make captain next year!"

"That's amazing babe, I'm so happy for you," I kissed the palm of her hand and then climbed into the driver's seat and sped down the highway with my love sitting next to me.

"Yeah, I know, it's great." She trailed off, sounding anxious. I stroked her cheeks, trying to sooth her.

"What's up babe?"

"Well, I don't know. Leah kept asking questions about you. She was pretty keen to know loads of personal stuff and when I told her I was your girlfriend she got really huffy and basically stopped talking to me altogether. I, I just think you need to watch your back." She looked down at her knees, embarrassed.

"Ness, sweetie, you are it for me. Leah doesn't stand a chance against you. I'm the one who should be worrying. You are tied so completely to my soul as I am to yours. You have to choice to walk away. If I'm being honest, I have been waiting to see if a guy makes a move on you so I can beat the crap out of him so everyone knows you are off-limits."

I had pulled up into the driveway at this point and turned off the ignition and looked into Ness's beautiful chocolate brown eyes.

"Come with me," she said, holding out her hand.

"Where?"

"Somewhere I can show you how much my soul is tied to yours without being charged with indecent exposure." She answered cheekily and winked before sliding out the car and running to open the front door. I followed less than a second later.

NPOV

It's been a week and I already have a mountain of homework, but I am still managing to maintain an 'A' average along with daily cheerleading practice and still managing to see Jake enough for my liking. I have been keeping a watchful eye on Leah all week. I don't trust her and I don't know if I even like her. She is petty and self-righteous and stubborn, but I am forced to eat lunch with her every day. The cheerleaders have their own table at lunch, as do the football players. Coincidentally they are next to each other so I sit at a chair right behind Jake so I can still talk to him if I want. It also means we get to hear what the boys are talking about too.

The cheerleaders had already had a celebration to welcome me and two other new members, Jessica and Angela, into the team and we had had a girly night in with facials and pedicures. We had also discussed boyfriends, virginal status and shopping hotspots. I decided to tell them I wasn't a virgin, it would save the trouble of making up a story later. The majority of them hadn't done it yet, even at 17 as most of us were, so they bombarded me with questions. I told them to wait and that it wasn't worth giving it up for just anyone because it was an uncomfortable and embarrassing experience (well for me it wasn't, but I am kind of different so I had to tell them how it is for them). The whole evening was a blast and I got to know the girls really well.

I stayed back after practice to store the pom-poms and the stereo, while the others left to get home. I planned to meet Jake on the football field where we had planned a one-on-one football game, which would probably result in just throwing and catching, but it was quality time nonetheless. I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed out to the field down the leafy deserted paths. The red, gold and orange colours of the trees are why I love the fall. You don't get this dramatic colour contrast in any other season and it is so breathtaking.

I planned to sneak around the bleachers and scare him, but as I peeked round the dirty seats, I saw Jake with Leah attached to his neck and their lips fully locked.

My breath caught in my throat and my eyes spills with water. I turned and ran straight to my parents' house. The family was waiting. Dad had seen the scene being played back over and over in my mind and Alice would have seen me coming. Jasper would have felt my extreme emotions, because that is what they were. My heart was being ripped again and again every time I saw the act in my memory. It was engraved there and I wanted to scratch it out of every brain cell. My face, I could tell, was red and puffy and the tears still fell from my eyes with no hint of desisting. The first to reach me was my mother. She clung to me, stroking my face and hair, attempting in vain to calm me. Alice and Rose joined our embrace while Esme was busy making me hot chocolate and cookies. The men of the family were onlookers of the scene and obviously didn't really know what to do in the situation. I wanted my teddy bear now, so broke from the oestrogen huddle and buried myself in Emmett's bear hug. He always made me feel better, even more so than Jazz and he was the mood swinger. He sat down on the couch with me on his lap and the rest of the clan sat around or stood.

"I warned him about Leah… knew she couldn't be trusted… knew he wouldn't be able to resist." I whispered, though my family could hear it as if I had shouted it.

The torture movie reel in my head was interrupted but beeping and vibrating in my pocket.

A text from him:

'Thought we were meeting on the field. Waited. At home. U ok? Call me babe. Jake X'

I threw the phone against the wall and it shattered. I will regret that later.

"Honey," Alice perked up, "did you confront him before you came over here?" Her question didn't need an answer… she had seen it.

"No. But what does it matter?" What did it matter? I had gone through something painful and Alice was asking about unimportant details.

"Because honey, sometimes a situation looks like one thing from the outsider's perspective, but in reality it is a totally different thing altogether. Maybe you should call him." She knew this was not what I wanted to hear.

"I don't want to talk to him. I'm going to bed. Goodnight." I trudged up the stairs and lay down on the soft comforter. It was as if I had never left, and it felt like the last shred of my heart had been obliterated.

JPOV

Ness hasn't come home. She isn't here in bed with me. She can't possibly be in trouble; she is part vampire, the good part. Indestructible, fast, strong; all traits that guarantee you cannot get into much difficulty.

Maybe she has left me. If she has she will be… at her parent's house.

The dial tone sounded at the other end of the line.

"Hello Jake," Alice.

"Hey Ali, is my baby bothering you over there by any chance? She didn't come home after school." If she isn't here, then I can panic.

"She is here, but she doesn't want to see or speak to you." She sounded upset and unsure.

"Why?" What have I done to deserve this treatment?

"Did you kiss the head of the cheerleading squad?" Oh shit. If she saw that then I am in much more trouble than I originally estimated. I am being punished for being attacked by rogue cheerleading captains.

"No. I was attacked by Leah and forced to kiss her due to her surprising strength for such a small person. It lasted five seconds. Two seconds for me to realise the situation and try and get her off me, three more because she struggled to keep contact. That must have been some serious bad timing for Ness to see that."

"I had a feeling that she didn't quite have the story right. But I think you should give her tonight in her old room and she can see you tomorrow. It's Saturday, so Rose and I will take her shopping and drop her back after lunch and you can talk then."

"Okay Alice. Bye. Tell her I… love her" The last two words unheard because Alice hung up.

I slumped in the nearest chair in our living room and clicked the stereo on. "A house is not a home" came on. Ness must have been listening to her old CDs last time she used this. I listened to the lyrics and they sorted of dictated my situation perfectly:

A chair is still a chair,

Even when there's no one sitting there,

But a chair is not a house,

And a house is not a home,

When there's no one there to hold you tight,

And no one there you can kiss goodnight.

A room is still a room,

Even when there's nothing there but gloom,

But a room is not a house and a house is not a home,

When the two of us are far apart,

And one of us has a broken heart.

It continued and as the words sounded more and more about how I felt, droplets of saltwater began to spill over my eyelids and I broke down. My imprinted soul was being tortured and I suddenly felt a million miles away from Ness. I needed to be near her, touch her, kiss her, love her… heal her. She was broken too.

I ran… faster, faster until I reached the house. Edward was at the door waiting for me.

"Alice told us. Go and fix it or so help me you will regret it Jacob." His stern tone was unnecessary. If I didn't fix it I was as good as dead anyhow.

I stole up the stairs and slipped through the door without making a sound. Ness had left my side of the bed empty, like it would be too painful to fill it, to accept whatever she thought she might have to accept.

I climbed into bed with her and pulled her into me, kissing her and holding her. I felt her clench. She was awake.

"You didn't cheat on me did you?" She asked like she already knew the answer.

"No," I whispered into her hair.

"And you hated every second?"

"Five to be precise. She struggled. I vomited a little afterwards." I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

She rolled over to kiss me, ending up on top.

"Good, 'cause I have been plotting ways to kill you both for the past six hours." She giggled, dominating me, which was so sexy I was getting excited.

"Take me back?" I needed her to say yes, for my health, my sanity.

"In a second. I think we need to get rid of Leah though, so I acquired some pot earlier which we are going to plant in her locker and then report so she gets expelled and I can sleep easy." She started to unbutton my shirt.

"Um… good idea, but… baby… ah… shouldn't we do this, ah, at our house, I mean, oh god, your parents…" I was so turned on I could barely form sentences.

"They can just deal with it," she whispered seductively in my ear before lowering herself on to my rock hard, "holy shit!"

So there you have it. I hope this chapter has a bit to suit everyone and it is a bit more PG-13 since the lemons are only insinuated, not described. I know Ness said she was going for music related after-school activities, but they come later… trust. And the Leah thing… I thought it was unrealistic if no girl tried something with Jake seeing as his yummy body is a bit too much to resist. The song is a favourite of mine from the Glee soundtrack and the lyrics fit perfectly with the tragedy of the storyline. Check it out it will rock your world! I have spoiled you with such a long chapter (by my standards) but hopefully seeing as summer is starting in 5 days for me (woop!) I will be updating regularly.

Thanks for reading… my fans mean everything to me. PLEASE REVIEW!

Sox1020