Chapter 10

Rated T

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Okay…okay…I backed myself into a corner here and while some of you thought it was hilarious (as did I), some of you were not so amused. Let's remember it was fiction and no dog food was consumed. It's just the *idea* of eating it would be really gross. I'll plead temporary insanity with work and home related stress.

Anyhow, let's see what we can do to get this show on the road.

There was no easy way to start righting the wrongs of her life. Her first priority now was the pack, as hard as that was to admit. She had done them wrong and wasn't sure if she could ever fully earn their trust back. It was sometimes hard to remember in all of this supernatural life, that they were all young and made mistakes. Embry, Quil and Jake were natural born pranksters and Jake assured her they had done far worse to each other over the years.

She wasn't sure that she had the kind of relationship that could get away with such a prank. Bella thought long and hard those few days she and Jake were isolated about where she should start. It seemed the most logical thing to let Edward know that things had changed and that she was no longer going to marry him. Prior to him grabbing her and running away, she would have sworn he was not like that. In reflection, she noticed how desperate he seemed. He reminded her the entire way back to the house that the Volturi had just checked up on her! Aro was expecting her to be changed. He was adamant they would all die if she didn't go through with it.

Sitting on the couch, staring into empty space, she recalled that day in her mind. It seemed like forever ago, but in reality, it had been 3 days. She and Jake had had 3 days of solitude. They had talked about everything and solidified the start of a relationship. Bella told him that there was a lot happening at once and she felt that they should take things slow.

Jake tried to convince her that things were far beyond a friendship with them already and that they could go forward however they felt comfortable. Bella thought back to how he convinced her to change her mind.

Her first night there, she had been terrified. Essentially kidnapped twice in one night. First by her vampire family, then by her werewolf family. It was pretty darn crazy when you put it like that. In her desperation to soothe Jake, she had kissed him. He'd begged her not to go and she promised she wouldn't. At first the words were hollow, empty.

But the more his warm, supple lips met with hers, the more pliable she became. She felt herself relax for once. No one was around listening with their supernatural hearing or mind-reading gifts. Jake had slowly pulled her out of her shell and she kissed him fervently. He'd pulled back with a huge smile on his face. He told her that it had been a long, crazy day and that he was still feeling exhausted. Standing from the couch with her in his arms, he carried her to their bed. In his mind, she was never going another place so it was theirs.

Then, the Day of Talking came. They'd gone over everything. Every single thing Bella could think of to ask about the pack and the legends, she'd asked. Jake had pulled out some tribal books his dad had in the house and they read through them together. First, they'd discussed practical things. That was easy-pack logistics, her role in the pack. They eased into the harder things. What would become of them now? Jake made it all sound so easy, as if the transition from one guy to another was no big deal.

Bella kept trying to explain that she'd been in this committed relationship with Edward, where most of her days were spent in fear. She didn't really "date" him. They were an unusual pair for the most part. Jake reminded her of all the ways she'd pretty much dated him. They'd gone to the movies, to bonfires, watches movies together all cuddled up and holding hands. When he made an imaginary bulleted list, Jake was more her boyfriend than Edward.

It was evidence such as that that left Bella stumped. What argument did she have left? Finally, she said to him, "What kind of girl dumps her fiancé and moves on with another guy?"

"My girl," Jake laughed, trying to kiss her as she leaned away from him.

"Ahh, Jake, come on! I already hate the way people think I'm a freak. I don't want to make it worse."

"You a freak? Nobody thinks that," she pierced him with a look. "No, honey. If anybody thinks anything, it's about the pack. And really, we don't care because we know what's really going on. The people that want to judge us and make assumptions about us-they don't matter."

Bella was leaning against the kitchen counter as Jake stalked closer to her. His words quiet, but full of meaning. He did not care what anyone thought about their relationship. He wanted her away from those bloodsuckers. She stood frozen, staring up at his large frame, towering over her.

"Bells, will you please be my girlfriend?" he asked her sweetly, with the innocence of the teenager he was. The hopefulness he held in his eyes, tugged at her heart. When he heard her heart gallop, his hands reached down to find hers. Gently, he wrapped his fingers around hers.

She let her head drop. This was all so much and so fast. "Jake, what about the Volturi?"

"What about them? Why are they so worried about one human girl? How can you interfere with their huge bloodsucking organization? Are you going to be the sole human to bring them down?" His eyes searched hers. Her heart raced in her chest as she remembered her visit to Volterra, to the way Aro had seemed to salivate over her, and how Jane despised her ability to block her.

"I think I'm a mystery to them. I think that's what makes me dangerous."

"Well, honey, can you stand here and honestly tell me that you want to go and become a vampire? If you do, then say so right now. I'll step back from you and let you go. It will practically kill me, but I will do it if that's what you want." He moved away from her and sat at one of the kitchen chairs, giving her the chance to go. This had to be something she wanted too. He couldn't go through his life wondering if she regretted her choice. He needed a solid, sure, and loyal mate.

He waited. And waited. The kitchen clock ticked loudly in the silence. Her breath could still be heard and she hadn't moved. It was hard to wait, as he was impatient and wanted to order her to decide. He knew that he could, but he wouldn't.

The soft footsteps kicked his heart rate up to double its normal rate as he thought she was walking away from him. Instead, she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck, burrowing into him, sucking in a deep breath. He could hear the start of her crying.

"No, I don't want to change, Jake. I haven't for a long time, but I didn't see any way out of this," she whispered right next to his ear. She watched his jaw clench and leaned forward to plant a small, silent kiss just in front of his ear. "I can't be your girlfriend." She paused. "Yet." Then she grinned against his face.

"I have to break up with Edward first."

He turned around and grabbed hold of her, pulling her into his warmth. They held each other for a long while, neither attempting to let go. They didn't push things either.

Now, it was Day 3. She knew that the pack would soon be coming back and she wasn't sure what story her dad had been given about her absence. Jake told her not to worry about cooking dinner for everyone. She would see that they were a family that worked together. Everyone would contribute something to the meal. He took her to the store and they got enough hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone.

Right around 6:30, the house became the central meeting location. The pack members and their imprints showed up. Jake saw to it they all brought something to share. He never thought it was fair that Emily was responsible for the slave-like cooking regimen they had her under. He would make sure that Bella was not a permanent fixture in his tiny kitchen. Charlie and Billy showed up together. Charlie was oddly quiet and seemed to be giving everyone a full pat down with his eyes. When Quil walked up to him and laughed, grasping his shoulder, Charlie muttered to him.

"What was that, Chief Swan? You're going to shoot me? Come on! Let's go try it!" Quil guffawed teasing the other man.

"Quil!" Bella shook her head, trying to keep her laughter in. "Dad, are you okay?"

"Need to know, Bells. Need to know," was his only answer. From that point, he grabbed two cold beers from the fridge and headed out into the backyard.

"Your dad is good with weird," Embry said, as he stared out the back window. "Guess we know which side of your family has the crazy genes!" He cackled and walked out the door.

Bella shook her head, glad that someone seemed to appreciate her failed attempt at humor. She knew she would never live it down. That night though Jake insisted she could relax, she went to town making chocolate mousse for dessert. It had taken her a long while to get it whipped to the right consistency, but she'd tried a taste and it was perfect. Ever so carefully, she scooped the mousse into little fancy plastic cups she'd bought at the store.

Everyone talked good naturedly during the meal. Jake and Sam chatting over the grill as they cooked the meats. Bella sat quietly by Emily, Kim and Rachel, only contributing to the conversation when someone spoke directly to her. It was hard to feel like you didn't belong after you felt like you had for so long. It didn't take long for the massive amounts of food to disappear. Bella went in to the house and carefully placed the cups onto a large tray to bring outside.

She was able to get the tray outside onto the picnic table and went back inside for the plastic spoons. When she came back out, Leah was standing over the table. Her eyes glared at Bella before she spoke.

"What is this, Bella?" she sneered out. "Dog shit?"

Charlie jumped up to look at the cups, wondering what the fuss was about. His eyebrows pulled down in puzzlement. Dog crap? It looked like chocolate pudding. He took one and tried it.

"Mmm, Bells! Tastes good." He happily ate the rest of the mousse, while the others stared at the cups in horror. Though they all knew what was in the cups was edible, the thought was there. They would never look at it the same again.

Leah laughed loudly as she walked off into the woods. She would never let Bella forget how she'd ordered her to eat dog food.

"Listen up, guys," Jake called their attention. "We will be having a pack meeting tonight at 11:00. Take your girls home and be back by then."

The others gathered their belongings and left. None of the wolves apologized to Bella as they left the dessert untouched. Charlie happily ate 3 more and offered one to Billy, who shook his head to decline.

"I'm headed out, Bells. I guess I'll see you tomorrow when you come to get your stuff."

"Stuff?" she asked, dumbly.

"Yeah…you know the stuff you'll need to live here with Jake…"

"Who said I was moving in with Jake?" she looked around.

"I did. Come on, Bella. I can't keep you safe in Forks. Edward could come try and grab you again. He did it in broad daylight once." Jake stood behind her, his arms folded over his chest.

"Fine. Whatever. But I'm sleeping by myself!" she hollered out as she went into his room and slammed the door.

Charlie walked out the front door, having scraped several more cups of mousse into a big red plastic cup. Billy told Jake he couldn't wait to sleep in his own bed and was off to sleep himself.

Jake smiled and grabbed one of the little desserts. He swiped his finger through it and licked it. It was good. Although, he might be biased. He took the cup and headed toward his bedroom, thinking of how his Bella and that mousse would taste mixed together.