Thanks to my beta MissCoppersMom

Chapter 10- a plate of pancakes

We're built in twos, okay? We're drawn to each other — no matter how far I run, he's always there — he finds me! It's physics! –Hancock

I was awoken much too early by the annoying noise of a spoon clinking on the side of a ceramic bowl. Also scorching heat. But the goddamn clinking, man. It just would not stop.

Clink.

I threw a pillow in the general direction of the noise, keeping my eyes shut. I grinned devilishly when I heard an "oomph" suggesting that my ammunition had hit it's intended target.

"Okay, okay, geez. I'll leave then, ya lovebird." I heard Kelsey mutter, followed by the soft click of the front door closing.

"Thank god. I thought the noise would never stop." Jake said from below me, his voice hoarse with sleep and his chest rumbling as he spoke.

Instead of running out of the room screaming, which was my initial reaction, I chose instead to retrace my steps, trying to figure out the pieces of how exactly I ended up in this position last night. First things first, I decided to get my bearings- figure out what exactly "this position" was. I seemed to be on the couch in my apartment, lying on top of a half-asleep Jacob Black. His arm was thrown over me, pulling me close to his chest. Not the worst thing I've ever woken up to, I'll tell you that.

Then I try to remember how I got here. I remember a bloody nose, then sitting on the couch and wondering whether or not I should wake Jacob up. I must have fallen asleep sometime after…

I shook my head, still too tired to form coherent thought. I rolled over so that my face was buried in his shirt and inhaled deeply. "You smell like pine trees and laundry detergent." I informed him, curling back into his chest.

"Mmmm…" He hummed agreeably. His hands began to run through my hair lightly, lulling me back into an almost-sleep like state.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked suddenly, his hands ceasing their movement.

"Don't stop." I requested without thinking.

"Huh?"

"Your hands… don't stop… feels… nice." I muttered quietly, punctuating the sentence with a yawn. I felt him smile into my hair and his hands resumed their journey, this time brushing ever so slightly against my cheeks as he ran the rough pads of his fingers back down.

The diamond ring hanging off my necklace began to dig painfully into my chest, and I had to regrettably end his calming ministrations by propping myself up on my elbows. My necklace brushed against his chest as I sat up, getting a good look at him underneath me. He opened his eyes and I gave him a soft smile. He grinned evilly back and flipped us over in one fluid movement.

Wide-eyed with my chest heaving, my fists clutched at his t-shirt like a life raft. He laughed at my shocked expression. I quickly grabbed the throw pillow out from behind my head and hit him with it. Hard.

"Jackass!" I accused, trying hard to keep the amusement out of my voice, but failing.

"You should have seen your face…" He said, chuckling. I tried to wiggle my way off the couch, but he had me trapped in between his two big, muscled arms.

"Nope." He said with a grin when he saw what I was trying to do. "You're not going anywhere."

"Oh really?" I challenged, raising an eyebrow. "Guess you don't want breakfast then."

His eyes narrowed, but it worked- he gave in and raised one of his arms to un-trap me from my position on the couch. I dashed out quickly, basking my ability to outwit him. "It better be good." He said, smirking.

"It'll be delicious." I said, throwing an oversized hoodie on and grabbing my car keys. "But I won't be the one cooking it. C'mon, my treat." I said, waving my hand so he would follow me out the door.

It wasn't until I got down into the garage and pressed the button to unlock my car that I realized Jake had yet to see the Jag. The car chirped as the lights flashed, almost as if in a greeting instead of a mere sign of it unlocking.

"No way." I heard Jacob say behind me. I turned back to look at him with a smirk on my face. He stood there with his mouth open in equal parts shock and bitter jealousy. "How many fucking cars do you own?"

I laughed. "Just this one and my Ducati, I promise. Hop in- but be careful, the leather seats alone cost more than the Rabbit."

"Ha-ha." He said humorlessly, slipping into the passenger seat.

The car roared to life and I pulled out of the garage and onto the crowded streets of Seattle, full of people driving to work on this overcast Friday morning. "Where are you taking me?" Jake asked.

I smirked. "Where am I 'taking you'? You make it sound like I've kidnapped you or something. Christ, we're going out to breakfast, not a ritual sacrifice."

"Fine- where are we going? Better?"

"Much." I responded, pleased. "It's just some café a couple blocks away." In hindsight, we probably could have walked, but I just couldn't resist the opportunity to flaunt my Jaguar in his face. After getting lucky and finding a quick parking space, I dragged him into the small, bright, eccentric coffee shop.

"One World Café, how many- Oh, Sky, it's just you."

I grinned wolfishly at Sasha, my classmate and drummed my fingers on her little hostess pedestal impatiently. "Is that any way to treat a customer?" I questioned.

She grinned at me in response. "I'll get you your usual table." One of the reasons I love this little place so much is because the owner, Brenna, likes to employ the local college kids. Because of the nature of the café, it attracts more of my type of people- art, dance, music people. Consequentially, every time I come here I end up seeing someone I know.

Sasha sat Jake and me down in the big, lavender booth in the back and walked off, telling us that she was going to get up two coffees.

Jacob scrutinized the menu and I snickered as a look of realization dawned on his face, along with one of slight horror. "Sky… did you take me to a vegetarian restaurant?" He asked, pronouncing the word "vegetarian" as if it were the epitome of vulgarity.

"Vegan, actually." I corrected him. He shook his head at me, pretending to look disgusted. At least, I hope he was pretending.

"What am I going to do with you?" He sighed.

I giggled and plucked the menu from his hands just as Sasha came back with the coffees. "We'll have two orders of the strawberries and cream pancakes, and one order of bacon." I said, knowing full well that the vegan bacon was single-handedly the most disgusting thing on the planet.

She scribbled down our orders. "Hey, you're coming to class today, right?" She asked. Sasha and I were in an art class together. One I hadn't shown up for in a while now.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes. I actually want to pass this semester."

Sasha grinned. "Good. I was starting to miss your sarcastic commentary all throughout the lesson." She stated smugly before prancing off. "Your orders will be out in a minute." She called over her shoulder.

I turned back to Jacob to find him frowning. "You have class today?"

I sighed. "Yes, unfortunately." I looked at the clock on the wall behind me. "In about two hours."

"You should come to the bonfire tonight." He blurted out.

I cocked my head, taking a sip of my coffee. "Bonfire?" I questioned.

He shrugged. "Yeah, it's this thing the tribal elders do every once in a while. We sit on First Beach and listen to the origin stories of the tribe. The elders want to get one more in before it's winter and it gets too cold." He explained.

"Sounds awesome!"

"Good." He said, sounding somewhat relieved. "Oh, and Kelsey can come too." He offered.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at the screen, frowning. Tom, the phone read. I hit ignore with a guilty sigh, looking back up at Jacob instead. I would pay for hanging up on him later, but I would much rather spend time with Jake right now.

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Who was that?"

I bit my lip, playing with the place setting in front of me instead of making eye contact. "My brother. He has some convoluted idea that I'll be hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year as a show of my 'responsibility.'" I said, adding finger-quotes around the word to enhance its stupidity.

He tilted his head curiously like a puppy. "What's the problem with that?"

I shrugged. "Finding a place to hold a meal for six people." I said with a self-deprecating grin. "My podunk little flat isn't going to cut it."

Jacob wrapped his hands around the coffee mug, appearing to be deep in thought. We were interrupted briefly as our food came to the table. I gave Sasha a smile as she sat the plates down in front of us both.

My stomach growled at the stack of pancakes placed before me, but just as I picked up my fork to dig in, Jacob cut in with a suggestion. "I have a solution for you." He said mysteriously, a mischievous smile tugging on the corner of his mouth.

"Mm?" I asked, or grunted rather, taking my first bite of the delicious food. "And what's that?"

"You should eat dinner with us, in La Push for Thanksgiving."

I choked on my food. I grabbed my water glass and took a big gulp, trying to wash the pancake out of my breathing pipe with simultaneously drown myself in embarrassment. "Hey, are you okay?" Jacob asked.

He's concerned. Of course he's concerned, I just choked on my breakfast like a complete idiot; it's a cause for concern. Damage control time.

"Fine, it's just… I wouldn't want to impose on you guys or anything. I mean, it's not just me, it's my entire family. Six extra people is a lot, you know."

He shrugged it off, dismissing my excuse. "Don't worry about that. Emily cooks for Thanksgiving. Last year we had almost forty people."

My mouth dropped open at the mere thought of preparing a Thanksgiving dinner for forty people. And here I was, complaining about six! "That's… insane. Where did all the people fit? There's no way forty people fit in her house…"

"Yeah, definitely not. The past couple of years her and Sue have been holding it at one of the elder's houses. He lives a bit of ways off, but his house is bigger. It's no Cullen mansion, but we fit." He said, smiling as he took a bite out of his pancakes.

"Wow. This is actually really good." He said, looking down at his plate, the surprise in his voice evident.

"I know, right?" I teased, raising my eyebrows at him. "Try the bacon." I said, pushing the plate a little closer to him in offering.

He took a piece of the brown, unidentifiable mush, fried and shaped into strips so that it would vaguely resemble some sort of meat. The suspicion in his hesitation was obvious. He was right to be paranoid. He held it up to me, looking me in the eye. "Am I going to regret this?" He asked.

I bit back a smile. "Only one way to find out." I responded, as close to encouragement as I could get without straight up lying to his face.

He took a substantially sized bite and coughed, almost immediately reaching for his water glass and draining it dry. "Ugh, that's horrible." He complained as I laughed at him. "It tastes like… like… wood, or tree bark or something."

He rolled his eyes at my laughter. "Alright, I ate your stupid bacon, now you have to agree to Thanksgiving. No more excuses." He manipulated, raising his eyebrow.

I stopped laughing, my eyes narrowed at him. My fingers reached out to play with the straw in my water glass as I spoke. "You drive a hard bargain, Jacob Black."

He gave a grin that could undoubtedly charm the pants off of any girl currently breathing. "It's not a bargain if you can't say no, Skylar. Then it's called a demand."

I observed him for a moment, contemplating my next move, but he seemed unwavering. "Okay." I agreed finally. "But! I have to help with the cooking, otherwise I would feel guilty." I negotiated reasonably.

"Deal." He agreed easily, taking another bite of pancake.

We chatted amicably for the rest of the meal. After the bill was paid, we took the five minute walk down to the city streets and back to my car. I didn't realize how late it had gotten- when I looked down at my phone I saw that I only had about half-an-hour before class started.

"Shit." I whispered under my breath, coming up with the conclusion that any way I worked it, I would be late for class, something I really wanted to avoid due to my recent attendance. If I got in the car right now and drove straight to school, it would probably take me twenty minutes with no traffic. However, I could hardly abandon Jacob here with no means of getting himself home, and driving him back to my apartment, then to school would take more time then I had left.

Jacob heard my mumbled curse. He tipped his head so he could search my face, looking for a clue into my thoughts. "What?" He asked. "You okay?"

I shrugged, not wanting to make him feel bad. In all honesty, I'm glad we got to do this, even if it means I'm late to class. Hell, I would miss class for a month if this is what I get to be doing instead. "I'm fine, I just realized I'm going to be a little late for my class." I said, trying to downplay it as best I could.

He frowned, looking at the watch on his wrist. "How long does it take to drive to your class?"

"Not that long, but I've got to get you back to the apartment."

He rolled his eyes with a little smirk on his face. "Don't worry about me Sky, I'll be fine. Just get to class- I can't have you becoming a delinquent because of me." He joked.

"What? No, I can't just leave you here." I argued as we approached my car.

He opened the driver's door for me, motioning with his hand for me to get inside. "Yes, you can- and you will. I'll make it- I can take care of myself Skylar." He said, then paused for a second before adding, "I'll still see you at the bonfire tonight though, right?"

I smiled. "Of course."

He gave a half-smile that lingered with relief. "Right. See you then." He said, then leaned in quickly to give me a peck on the cheek.

That was not happening.

At the last second, I turned my face so that his lips hit mine. I could hear his small gasp and see in his face his embarrassment as he pulled away, thinking it was a mistake on his part and not initiated intentionally by me. "Sorry," He mumbled sheepishly.

"Don't apologize," I replied in a whisper, fisting my hands in his hair and bringing his mouth back down to mine. This time, he realized what I was doing and responded, his lips moving in perfect synchronization with mine.

I could give you all the clichéd bits about how there was fireworks, sparks, or dramatic explosions of light. But that would be a lie. In reality, it was much better.

There was warmth. Everywhere, there was warmth. Where his hand rested on my waist, drawing small circles with his thumb, where he cradled my face in his palm and ran his fingers through my hair… and where his lips kissed me in the middle of a crowded street.

Warmth.

There was passion. It was tangible- it was like a current running through the air, heightening my senses so that everything felt magnetized in that moment.

So no, there was no burst of energy that fizzled like a million firecrackers.

The kiss was tender, but needy- soft but passionate. The kiss was… Jacob.

Everything was Jacob. If you asked me my name, I probably couldn't tell you. It was like my whole mind had been wiped clean and now the only thing that existed anymore was him.

And I loved every second of it. He seemed to as well.

He ran his fingers through my long hair one last time before he pulled away, his eyelids fluttering a bit but remaining shut, as if to prolong the moment. He didn't go far though, his arm wrapped around me tightly, encasing me in his heat.

I sighed and rested my forehead on his, wishing for nothing more than that he would open his eyes so I could see the expression in them. I was dying to know what he was thinking- to know if he felt even half of what I was feeling right now.

Finally, they opened, and he looked at me. His eyes were dark- burning with so many emotions that I couldn't quite place. Lust, passion, wonder, reverence and… and…

Love?

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply to dispel the premature notion. Certainly not.

"Skylar…" He whispered, his voice hoarse. "Look at me, please. I need you to look at me."

How can I possibly argue with that? I obeyed, opening my eyes and looking back at him. All the emotions I had seen before were still there, just as strong, just as unchecked, and just as overwhelming. I can say with complete confidence that no one has ever looked at me the way Jacob was looking at me now.

It was too much.

I looked down; I broke eye contact. I had to, I had to break the trance, before I lost all frame of mind. Before Jacob drove me slowly insane.

"Jake," I whispered, barely recognizing my own voice. "That was…" I shook my head, unable to come up with an adjective that could properly convey the experience.

"I know," He whispered back. "I felt it too."

Again, the feeling of being overwhelmed hit ne like a ton of bricks. First the kiss, then his heated gaze, now he acknowledges that he felt it too.

It.

That feeling I got, like we were two puzzle pieces finally clicking. Like the whole universe took a collective sigh of relief and said "finally." Like there was some sort of wire between us, connecting us at the soul that pulsed in time with our heartbeats. Like in some unintentional twist of fate, I was built to kiss him like that… as he was me.

Too much.

All of it, at once- Too. Much.

"Jacob, I- I have to go. I'm going to be late, for- for class." I stuttered, suddenly feeling trapped in his embrace. I quickly slipped out of it. The air seemed cold and unwelcoming compared to his warmth, but it cleared my mind.

"You're going? Now?" He asked, his brow furrowed. "Oh, okay. But, I'll still see you tonight, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, of course." I promised, eager to get out of there. I couldn't think clearly when he was near me. Oh, god, what was happening to me? I sound like a poorly written romance novel.

"Good. I'll… see you really soon then Sky. Bye." He said, smiling at me with a wave before I got in my car and quickly pulled away.

"Tell me again why we're going to this thing?" Kelsey asked from the passenger seat, fiddling with the laces on her Vans. Now that I had time to clear my head, and take a Jacob-free time out, I had decided that the best way to handle the situation would be to go to the bonfire and talk to him about it, see how much of "it" he really felt.

Bringing Kelsey along with me was more of a moral support type thing. Well, it would be, if I would actually tell her what happened. I still haven't worked up the nerve to put it into words yet. "Because we were invited and neither of us have class tomorrow, so I thought it would be a rather fun activity." I said, the best and only excuse I could think of at the moment.

Kelsey just smiled and bit her lip, knowing that I was keeping something from her- something about Jacob- but never being one to pry.

"Besides, we're almost there." I said, to get the attention off of the subject.

"Really?" She asked, sitting up straighter. "How much longer, I'm getting a really bad headache." She rubbed her temples, closing her eyes. Stress headaches weren't too uncommon for her, but in the two weeks since we've been back from La Push they've gotten much more frequent and worse. I was beginning to worry if it was a mild case of PTSD. We've never actually talked about what happened… I made a mental note to do that soon.

"Only a few more minutes." I promised, turning onto the now-familiar road through the woods. I recognized the dirt path that lead down to the Cullen household. My hand unconsciously went to feel the outline of the wooden cross under the fabric of my t-shirt.

I still didn't know if I was willing to forgive and forget so easily. The dress Alice gave me to wear to Benaroya Hall still hung in my closet, taunting me with its presence and the reminder of my horrible tendency to hold grudges.

It was only seven o'clock, but it was already getting dark out in the chill, late October air. As I pulled into the parking lot next to the beach the gravel crunched under my tires. I stopped the car and grabbed a sweatshirt from the back, knowing I'll probably need it before the night is over.

Kels and I made our way down to the beach where the faint orangish glow of a fire was already visible. I glanced to my left and saw two familiar figures- hulking and shirtless- walk towards the clearing in the woods. Jacob and Embry. "Hey, you go down, I'll catch up with tou in a minute." I promised Kelsey walking after them with soft footfalls.

It wasn't until I got to the tree line that I could really hear their conversation. They had gone a little further into the foliage, but I could hear Embry's voice as clear as day. "I'm just saying man, that if I were you, I would make a move real soon. If you wait too long, she might get the wrong idea, and that's when people get friend-zoned." He lectured in a serious voice, as if he were teaching a complex and hard-to-understand subject like Calculus or Physics.

"I don't think that's going to be a problem for me anymore." Jacob said, rather smug-sounding.

I wasn't intending to eavesdrop, I really wasn't. I had just wanted to sneak up on them and scare the shit out of both of them, but now that I realized they were talking about me the opportunity was just too intriguing to pass up.

"Why not?" Embry asked curiously. "Did you finally make a move?" There was a pause. "Did she make a move?"

Embry's laugh echoed through the trees. "Damn, I knew I liked this girl." He said, sounding impressed. "Well? How was it?"

"We just kissed Embry." Jacob grumbled a bit uncomfortably.

"I know that dude." I could almost hear Embry's eye roll. "But from what I hear from Sam and Jared, it's supposed to be all 'magical' and 'earth-shattering' and shit." I leaned in closer to the sound of their voices, desperate to hear Jake's honest feedback on the kiss and if it was just as powerful for him as it was for me.

"Spying isn't cute, you know."

I gasped, my hand fluttering uselessly to my mouth at the surprisingly near voice.

Paul.

"Jesus Christ." I hissed at him, glaring with all my might. "What the hell are you doing here?" I snapped at him.

"I should ask you the same thing." He said. Even in the flattering light of the moon he looked like shit. Well, not actually. Actually, he was (dare I say it) rather attractive like the rest of the La Push boys.

But damn.

If I thought he was looking bad before, then he must look like a Medusa reincarnate now. He looked tired as hell and like he hadn't showered in weeks. He looked like he went through hell and back and sold his soul to get there. It wasn't hard to see that stuff when it was written so plainly on his face. Of all the people, I never would have pegged Paul for an open book.

"What happened to you?" I asked, rather unsympathetically. But who cares? This is Paul.

He scowled at me. "Nothing. Nothing happened."

I was about to walk away from him when I remembered something Jacob had told me the night before. "Hey, what is this shit I hear about you coming to visit us in Seattle?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

He clenched his fists. "I didn't mean to." He spoke through gritted teeth. "I was just… just running… just going somewhere, then- fuck!" He punched a tree and I noticed him shaking. I took a step back, unnerved and not sure what was going on.

Paul was still ranting, almost as if he had forgotten of my presence and was just getting it all out. "The next thing I know I'm in Seattle, in some little coffee shot and there she is and I don't even know what I'm doing there."

"Paul, what are you talking about?" I asked, getting more and more worried for my safety by the second.

"It's like, it's like the universe just won't let me stay away from her." He explained to no one in particular, pacing like a mad man. "Like no matter how hard I try, all paths lead to her and there isn't shit I can do about it whether I like it or not. And! And even when I do try, the goddamn spirits, or whatever put me through hell. I mean, between the headaches and the insomnia and this irritating-as-fuck ache in my chest-"

"Paul!" I exclaimed.

He stopped talking, looking at me for the first time since he started shaking. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if I was shaking now, he was scaring the crap out of me. "What are you talking about?" I asked.

He looked at me like I was an idiot for not knowing. "Her. Kelsey."

"Kelsey." I repeated blankly. "My Kelsey?" I clarified, dumbfounded as to why he would have such a violent reaction towards a girl he insulted once then never talked to again.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes… that Kelsey." He paused for a moment, his expression appearing distant.

"But why-"

"Hold on, hold on," He said, putting up a finger to silence me. "This might work." He grabbed my shoulders and attempted to steer me to a log on the ground and get me to sit. I promptly swatted his hands off, still far to clairvoyant to allow that.

"Don't touch me." I snapped at him.

He took his hands off, facing his palms towards me as if he were being arrested. "Fine, whatever. I need you to do something though. Tell me about her." He demanded.

"No." I stated simply without even hearing the question, ready to refuse him no matter what he wanted.

"Why not?"

"If you want to ask her something, you can do it yourself. She's down at the bonfire right now." I said, getting up and brushing my jeans off, getting ready to leave.

His eyes got a glazed, far-away look for a second before he shook his head roughly. "No, absolutely not. Just- Skylar!" He exclaimed, catching my arm to keep me from leaving. "Just five minutes. Please. I just need to know stuff about her, just little things. Then maybe I can stop thinking about her so much."

I looked down at the dirt, hating myself for what I was about to do. "Fine." I said, stomping over to the log and sitting back down on it. "What do you want to know?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, shit. I don't know. What's her…"

"Favorite color?" I put in with a sarcastic bitterness.

"Sure." He replied sincerely, to my surprise.

I rolled my eyes. "Yellow." I said, sticking to one-word answers to piss him off.

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?" I asked, angry at his vagueness. After all, I was doing him a favor.

"I mean, why is yellow her favorite color?"

"Why is… I have no idea! Sunsets, maybe- parrots! Who the hell knows?" I exclaimed, getting frustrated with him.

"Parrots?" He asked, his voice verging on amused.

"Yeah, parrots. You know, those colorful birds that fly around in South America, Brazil and shit?" I said, trying my hardest to not sound condescending.

"Brazil?" He said, sounding idiotic as he continued on with his single-word line of questioning.

"Yes! Brazil! As in the place she went last summer."

"Why did she go to Brazil last summer?" He asked, for once being calm and not getting worked up.

"Because she has family there." I said, getting up because I was annoyed to hell with him and his general demeanor.

"So she's Brazilian?"

"On her mom's side, yeah- why am I even telling you this?" I asked myself, putting my hand to my forehead and starting to walk away.

His response was immediate, calm and collected and completely the opposite of anything I ever would have expected to come out of his mouth, ever. "Because as much as you wish everyone thought otherwise, deep down you care."

I froze in place, absorbing what he said. He raised an eyebrow, as if challenging me to contradict his statement.

I swallowed, looking at the ground instead of him and taking a deep breath. "Her favorite color is yellow. She loves math class and her mom. She hates it when people fight and she's fiercely loyal to her family. She likes the beach a lot but the mountains more. She's sitting down at the bonfire now and she hates cheesy pickup lines." I whispered.

"And Paul?" I asked, finally glancing back up, hoping that against my better judgment, I could trust him. "Don't make me regret this."

With that, I walked back down to the sandy beaches of La Push, back to Jacob and Kelsey and Embry and all the other people who make me feel like I belong.

A/N: I know it's been a while, but this is a longer chapter! Hope you guys enjoy it :) I wanted to make sure I had some stuff with Paul in the end. Thanks for all your support and please review!