Chapter Nine: Giggles

Jake's excellent hearing woke him sometime in the early hours of the morning. The grey-ish, pearly light of dawn was creeping through the windows and making funny patterns through the leaves of the tree right outside the panes of glass. Gravel crunched, shifted, and Jake swore he felt the gravel shifting underneath tires, his senses were that acute at that second.

Unfortunately, it took precious seconds for his brain to kick in and realize that the gravel was moving beneath the tires of Charlie's car, and that meant that Charlie was home. His swearing was low, fast, and pricked the ears of dogs in the neighborhood, though no human could possibly hear it.

"Shitshitshit, oh crap, I'm gonna be a neutered wolf." His body jerked up and he ran for the door, closing it soundlessly, but firmly. Very firmly. He figured it would take about a minute for Charlie to get out of the car, into the house and up the stairs before he realized his daughter's door was jammed quite nicely. It would probably take him another few seconds to decide whether or not he wanted to check in on Bella. Jake would bet his in-danger-balls that Charlie would, if only to assure himself that Bella hadn't died of terminal clumsiness sometime during the night.

A wind whipped around the room, waking Bella up, as Jake ran to her drawers and grabbed all the items of clothing he could think of. Socks, in case her feet got cold. Shoes? No, those were downstairs. That's okay, Emily's feet are about the same size, Jake muttered in his mind. Underwear; check. Shirt, jeans, jacket; check, check, and… he found a hoodie in her closet. That'd work. This took him about five seconds, given to the fact that he had to think and look for the hooded sweatshirt.

Next he turned and knelt next to Bella, who was only just beginning to push herself up. "Jake?" she asked as he suddenly appeared in front of her.

Jake deposited the clothes next to her and brushed a kiss against her forehead. "Morning, Bells. Listen, honey, your dad is about to walk upstairs and discover that your door just so happens to be jammed. As I have no clothes and the room looks like a bomb went off, I figured you wouldn't want us to be here when he opens that door, am I right?" Her eyes flew open and she bobbed her head up and down frantically, reaching over and grabbing the bra, trying to snap it in place but unable to find the hooks in the back in her haste.

"Jake, help!" she said, panicked giggles making their way up her throat.

Jake chuckled as he moved behind her and struggled to get the hooks (which he swore were becoming smaller and more crooked by the instant) into the latches. "You know, it's no wonder men only have to take these things off; they're too damn hard to put on. Jesu—there!" he whisper-yelled as the hooks got into place. Well, they were a little lopsided, with one being on one level and another farther to the right, but right now wasn't the time to be picky! She grabbed the panties and moved to stand, but he grabbed her and hurried the process by gently picking her up, mindful of his strength. She rushed to pull on pants and started on her shirt and then the hoodie. By then Jake had the window open and had figured out that he could jump down without jarring Bella too much if he carried her.

Turning around he had the most insane urge to laugh and drool at the same time. The fool had left the button and zipper undone on her pants, giving him glimpses of silky white skin against dark cloth, and her hood was lopsided, making her look like a demented rabbit. The combination of innocently maniacal girl and undeniable temptress threatened to make his eyes bulge out of his head while he died of suppressed chuckles. As she thrashed about, trying-emphasis on the try- to stand upright while her foot was caught on the end of the low-riding jeans, the giggles won out and he caught her, his body shaking and choking sounds emerging from his throat.

Bella swung around, foot forgotten, and looked up at him worriedly. "Jake, what's…" she trailed off, looking at the unguarded mirth on his face. She looked at him curiously and swiveled her head around, seeking the source of his hilarity. She caught a glance in the mirror and turned pink, then pushed the hood back and nonchalantly did up her pants. The sound of footsteps on the stairwell made them both look up, panic written across their faces, and then… the entire situation caught up on them and silent laughter rocked both of them, making the floor shake and the air wrinkle with soundless amusement. Jake had to struggle to keep quiet as he picked her up and lunged with superhuman speed for the window. A knock came on the door, but there were no occupants in the room, the window was closed silently, and the only things that were left of Jake and Bella were a streak of wind racing across the open expanse of the street and shouts of disembodied laughter.