Disclaimer: I do not own nor profit from these characters.
BETA:MIST aka Superwoman Mist
A/N: Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far and remember we are SO aware of the possible mistakes I have made in grammar or hell any other mistake possible you find on here but just keep it to yourself. I'm doing this for fun not for a profession. To those of you who have shower me with praise and wonderful support, THANK-YOU! xoxox
Forks 98331 :Chapter 8: Part 1
Bella was relieved when Miranda came over she seemed to be in a better mood than in class earlier in the day. They had spent a good hour on nothing but research and outlining the project in great detail. She was starting to see a possible A in their future for this particular assignment. She was glad to see that Miranda was as bright and thorough with her work like herself.
Miranda's phone beeped causing Bella's concentration to falter as she typed up the final outline draft.
Bella watched as Miranda flip the phone open staring at the text message for a second then replied quickly slipping the phone in her back pocket.
It was not lost of Bella the way Miranda seemed to be keeping this time together strictly school related. Not once did she speak of the party, about her problems with Jake, or even Edward for that matter. Bella sensed something was still bothering her but Miranda did not want to share it with her. She knew she should not take it so personal. After all she barely knew the girl.
"Here." Bella printed out a extra copy handing it to Miranda who slipped it into her folder.
"What else do we need to do?" Miranda asked as she closed her pink lap top.
"I think we covered all the basics for now. I will do my research on the first half and you can take the second half if you want?" Bella suggested.
"K." Miranda nodded her head as she began to gather up her stuff.
"I think this will turn out brilliant." Bella smiled warmly at Miranda who turn giving her a look that reminded Bella of Rose for a few seconds before she slip on a smile that made Bella relax.
"It will be. I never do anything half way." Miranda chuckled as she grabbed her book bag and car keys.
"When are you available to meet up again like this?" Bella opened the calendar application on her phone so she could jot it down.
"Not sure yet. Maybe this weekend. Have to see what my plans are." Miranda replied flippantly as she made her way to the door.
"Oh. K." Bella answered.
"So what is your deal with Jake?" Miranda had tried for the past hour to not mention anything about what she had witness with Jake and Bella at school today but it ate at her. She needed to know if Bella was her friend or if she was a backstabbing bitch who was after her man.
"Uh?" Bella gulped hard. She wondered what Miranda had seen exactly to make her think there was even a "thing" between Jake and herself.
"I saw him giving you a ride home today." Miranda explained as she leaned against the frame of the door staring at Bella with mistrust in her eyes.
"Oh, that. Yeah, I missed the bus and he offered to give me a ride. That's all." Bella threw her hands up in the air.
"He also gave you a ride home from the party." Miranda thought out loud.
"Okay, I'm guilty Miranda. Guilty of constantly needing a ride home but nothing else." Bella joked hoping to lighten up the mood. She did not want Miranda to feel or suspect just how much Jake affected her. She knew that their relationship was having some issues but they shared a history together. A history that she did not believe Jake or Miranda would give up on so easily.
"Ha. Your funny Bella." Miranda cracked a genuine smile at her.
"Honestly, Jake is a friend. He has been so nice to me and we talk about Edward some." Bella admitted.
"You talk to Jake about Edward?" Miranda was surprised by this confession.
"Yeah, he is like my guy friend, you know. The guy you go to for advice about other guys. Nothing else." Bella hoped that her explanation for the sudden friendship of hers and Jake made sense to Miranda. She did not want to stir up a witch hunt when it was not validated yet.
"Jake is good like that." Miranda glanced at her feet with a guilty smile on her face. She knew she had rushed at Bella with her paranoia but the thought of loosing Jake always made Miranda overreact.
"Are we still friends?" Bella hoped that she had not lost Miranda as a friend. Sure, she was crushing hard on the girls boyfriend but she would never dare make a move on him.
"Yes, we are." Miranda nodded.
Bella could tell she was relieved to know that Bella was not a direct threat to her already bumpy relationship with Jake.
"Good." Bella smiled brightly at her although the pit of her stomach was in knots. She knew honestly that if Jake Black ever made a move on her there was no way in hell she would stop him or herself.
Emmett laughed as he watched Rosalie sucking her fourth shot of tequila. She had agreed to come over for a little bit of study time but they ended up making a game of it. If she got the answer wrong she had to take a shot. He knew she was surprised at just how smart he truly was.
"Yuccck." Rose squinted her eyes as the horrible strong flavor of the liquid made its way down her throat.
"I bet you wished you had studied up more." Emmett laughed.
"Screw you." Rose rolled her eyes as she ask the next question watching as Emmett took a few minutes before answering it, of course he was correct. Rose looked at the sheet of paper, flipping it over to see if there was away he might be cheating.
"Haha. If you want to screw me your going to need to stop missing these answers. I like my girls semi sober when I screw their brains out." Emmett wiggled his eyebrows making Rose laugh hysterically at him. She knew the liquor was staring to kick in but she also found Emmett's sense of humor rather funny.
"Only semi? I would thought you would have more fun if they were passed out." Rose teased him.
"Shit. I like a woman to remember what I do to her." Emmett replied with a smug grin on his face.
"I don't know Emmett she might rather be passed out." Rose continued to flirt with him as she quickly gulped down the next shot that was already set up.
Emmett handed her a lemon, she yank it out of his hand and began to suck on it like a person thirsty in hell.
"Damn girl. I think you nearly drain that damn thing." Emmett sat up straighter as his cock grew hard.
"I try to do my best." Rose replied with a sparkle in her eye as she asked the next question watching as he struggled with the answer. She clapped her hands when he gave her the incorrect answer.
"Haha! Your turn. Suck it down." Rose slid the glass in his direction.
"I think you have invented one of the coolest ways to study." Emmett replied with an impressed look as he suck it down like it was water. Not one odd facial movement. Rose was impressed.
"Seriously, you liked it?" Rose frown at him.
"Honey, this is not my first bottle of tequila." Emmett answered as he took the paper from her.
It's not mine either but it still tastes yucky." Rose licked her lips trying to put more lemony flavor in her mouth to cover up the nasty tequila flavor.
"You got to learn to not think about it so much." Emmett explained as he sat the paper down in front of him, taking her hands he pulled her closer to him.
"What are you doing?" Rose looked at him with alarm. She had planned on flirting with him but nothing else today. She was trying to take things slow with Emmett. She wanted to explore the possibilities with her ex boyfriends cousin. She still was not sure how she was going to use him to hurt Edward.
"I'm going to kiss you Rose." Emmett stated as he pressed his lips against hers, his hand reaching around her throat, holding her still while he kissed her long and hard.
When he released her she just stared into his eyes with a perplexed look.
"Damn did I make you speechless?" Emmett joked but felt oddly afraid he might have disappointed Rose somehow.
Rose grabbed Emmett's shirt yanking him hard against her. Kissing him this time. She pushed his lips apart tasting the liquor inside of his mouth. Twirling their tongues together. Her heart was racing, her stomach was knotted up, and most of all her head was spinning. She knew that it was mostly due to the amount of liquor she had in her blood to cause this kiss to feel so damn good.
"I need to go." Rose announced unexpectedly even to her own ears.
"But we are not done with our reviewing." Emmett placed a fake pouty look toward Rose.
"I think you will manage just fine on your test." Rose smirked as she stood up quickly.
Feeling a bit dizzy she reached out holding onto his arm until she was able to get her balance.
"Maybe I should give you a ride home." Emmett looked concerned at her.
"You have a car?" Rosalie ask curiously. She knew he had rode over with Edward to the party.
"No, my Uncle offered to get me one soon. " Emmett explained as he dug his hands into his pockets looking a bit embarrassed.
"I can drive home." Rose insisted as she ruffled his hair before stepping around him.
"Are you sure? I can drive your car and walk home." Emmett insisted but Rose just shook her head in disagreement.
"Thanks but I got it." Rose grabbed her book bag and walked of the room hoping like hell she was right.
She knew one thing for sure from all of this fun tonight, she definitely had some chemistry with Edward's cousin, which would make using him much more pleasurable.
Miranda made her way home quickly. She wanted to be in the privacy of her own room when she called Jake. She was tired of his childish behavior. If he wanted to make this relationship work then he needed to talk to her and stop sulking.
Once she was safely in her room she pulled out her phone and laid across the bed on her stomach, twirling her hair around her finger waiting for him to answer.
After several rings he finally responded to her call.
"Hello." His voice sounded like he had been sleeping,
"Hey. We need to talk." Miranda began as she took a deep breathe and spit out the speech she had prepared from Bella's house to her house.
"I'm tired." Jake yawned.
"Damn it Jake, I know I screwed up. I know you hate when I drink. I am sorry. I am weak. Okay, there you heard me say it. I am a weak person. Not all of us are as strong as you." Miranda began to blur swiftly knowing that Jake was not in the mood to talk and would try to make their conversation short and sweet.
"Strong? I just know the difference between right and wrong. I don't have a problem with people drinking Miranda, it's just that you are not a very pretty girl when you drink. You act so much like your sister that it disgusts me. You know I don't like it when you get all flirty with other guys even if it doesn't mean anything to you. It means something to me. " Jake stated firmly.
Miranda chewed on the corner of her lip anxiously. She knew he would be disappointed in her but comparing her to Rose was just a cheap shot.
"You act like my sister is the damn Antichrist Jake." Miranda rolled her eyes as she sat up on the bed. She was tired of him constantly judging her sister. Sure, she was not exactly the nicest person in the world but she was not exactly that horrid either.
"Hello, have you not seen her horns? She is cruel Miranda. She acts like she is superior to the rest of us. Look, I don't want to argue with you about Rose. Okay, I have no right to judge her. I would be a hypocrite to do so but I can tell you that I dislike the way she uses sex to torment and use guys. When you act all flirty it makes me feel as if I'm not enough for you." Jake decided to change the subject at hand. He knew that talking to Miranda about Rose was a lost cause. She was her sister after all and was bound to defend her.
"YOU are enough for me Jake. I swear it. You're the only guy I want to be with." Miranda felt her stomach sink at hearing the doubt she created in him by acting so foolishly and wanting attention from other guys.
"Well, you have a funny way of showing it sometimes." Jake sighed heavily as he pressed the phone against his ear as he laid on the sofa.
"What can I do to make it up to you?" Miranda pleaded with him.
"I think we just need some time apart. I mean, we are together constantly these days. A little breathing space is probably for the best." Jake spoke the words that he was considering all day long.
The image of her rubbing up on Edward seemed to burn a hole in his head all day long. How easily she had thrown herself on someone else had sent him in a fit of rage. She would tell him that she wanted to wait to have sex yet she had no qualms about flirting and grinding on other guys. It stung his ego and it pissed him off. Why was he not worthy enough to have sex with?
"Are you serious?" Miranda gasped for air. Her chest tighten up as she replayed his exact words in her head. He wanted to take a break from her and from them. This was not a good sign. This could only end up horribly for them.
"Yes, I am." Jake swallowed the nervous lump that had formed in his throat. Although he loved her and it hurt him like hell to see her with another guy he knew that this relationship was not in a good place at the moment.
Then there was Bella. How was it possible for him to feel such a physical attraction to her if he truly loved Miranda? He was not sure what it was exactly between them but he was curious to see where it might lead.
"Jake, you are making a big mistake. You know I love you but if you think you can date other people then return to me when you are done you are mistaken. Look, you need to calm down and think rationally about this. I love you but I will not be put on the side while you try to find away to forgive me for acting like a normal teenage girl." Miranda huffed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Her head was pounding like a jackhammer was working inside of it.
"I don't think that it is normal to purposely get drunk to piss off your boyfriend and then expect him to act like all is forgiven because your sober now." Jake argued as he rolled his eyes angrily.
"I'm sorry if I am not as perfect as you are." Miranda shouted as she chewed on her nails nervously.
"Perfect? I never claimed to be perfect but you don't see me throwing myself at girls in front or behind your back. Look, I just said we take a break I did not say we were breaking up." Jake reminded her.
"We might as well be. There is no such thing as a break and you know it." Miranda snorted rudely.
"Okay we don't have to call a break. I just want sometime to myself. I am so angry with you that we would just argue if we were near one another. Does that sound better?" Jake inhaled deeply. He knew she was not pleased with anything he suggested unless he just agreed to forgive her but that was not going to happen.
"I guess. I just…well…I don't understand why you feel the need to punish me like this, Jake. It's not fair. I'm sorry. I really, really am." Miranda felt the tears building in her eyes as she understood that Jake was not going to relent on this matter. He was truly pissed off at her this time and no matter how badly she wanted him to forgive her and move on it was not going to happen today.
"I am not punishing you Miranda, I just don't feel comfortable with you. I know you want to kiss and make up but seriously, this is not the first time. Ask yourself why you did it? When you knew damn well, how it would make me mad to see you hangin all over some other guy. You know you get that way when you drink. But you did it anyways." Jake knew he was talking to a brick wall. She thought she was overreacting to something minor. A hiccup in their relationship. But seriously, it was true, she knew it would bother him but she did it anyways, the question remained between them "why" and until she gave him a honest answer he did not want to be around her.
"I wish you were here so I could show you how much I love you." Miranda pouted.
Jake frowned. Of course she wanted him there, she would try using foreplay as away of making up for her sins. It was too late for even that.
"Sorry. I am tired. Goodnight Miranda." Jake said in a hoarse voice. He hated to hurt her but he also hated when someone purposely hurt him.
"Night Jake, I love you." Miranda whimpered.
Jake hung up the phone without saying another word. He knew she would just try to lead him back into a conversation that he felt was done. There was nothing left to be said. She hurt him. No matter if she was drunk or not she hurt him. She knew the risk she took and she took it anyways, why should he be forgiving of that?
Crossing his arms behind his head he thought about Bella. The way she had felt holding onto him. The way she smiled at him. The way she seem to be so open and honest with him. He knew she had some serious issues that had led her here to Forks but something told him that she was trying to change into a better person. A kind of person she could be proud of. A kind of person that he might have a serious crush on.
Bella woke up earlier than usual the following morning, she prepared a quick breakfast of pancakes and orange juice for her parents and herself. After she ate she grabbed her book bag and was heading out to catch the bus when she nearly tripped over Edward who was standing in her doorway.
"Jesus." Bella cried out as she came face to face with Edward.
"Not remotely." Edward laughed.
"What are you doing here?" Bella smiled despite the annoying feeling she felt about him just popping up at her door step.
"Ride? Thought you might need one. I heard I missed giving you one after school yesterday." Edward caught the look of surprise on her face.
"It's a small town Bella, everyone talks. You were seen riding on the back of Jacob Black's motorcycle. It's rare to see any girl other than Miranda riding with Jake, especially on his bike." Edward explained more in detail of what he had seen in the chat room he had signed in when he was bored late last night.
"Really?" Bella felt a instant thrill at the thought of being talked about in a good way for a change and connected with Jake. Then she wanted to slap herself. She was not going to revert to her old ways. Miranda was Jake's girl. Not her. She now understood why Miranda was so disturbed by Jake giving her simply a ride home.
"Really. Come on." Edward took her bag from her arm as she followed him to his car.
"Where's Emmett?" Bella asked curiously.
"He can find his own way to school. I'm not his damn taxi cab." Edward answered with sarcasm.
"Well, then why are you being so generous to me?" Bella teased him.
"You I like, him not so much." Edward replied as they slipped into the car.
Bella laughed at his comment. She definitely would like to know how it was that Emmett got so deep under Edward's skin. Families were suppose to be tight. This one seemed like it was cold and distant.
"So has anyone talked about you giving me a ride?" Bella suddenly found herself asking out loud.
Her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink when she realized that she was acting proud of how she was riding around town with two of the most handsome guys at school.
"Oh yeah, trust me they think you're my latest fling." Edward chuckled bitterly.
"Fling, uh?" Bella did not like the sound of that.
"Yeah, see I don't make it habit of seriously dating girls. Rose was my first real girlfriend in a long time. I usually just mingle with the female population. However, I don't usually flaunt them around town the way I do you, so that is definitely got some of them wondering just what exactly you mean to me." Edward admitted as he gave her a sheepish grin that made Bella feel a little light headed.
"Oh great, drama." Bella mumbled under her breathe as she looked away from him, staring out the passenger window hoping today at school the females would not consider her some sort of threat to their men. She had no intention of getting too involved with any guy just yet. She still had to get her head on straight before she involved herself into another person's life.
When they pulled up in his usual parking place she saw the huddles of people staring as they stepped out of the car together. She was sure she was making quite a wave of gossip among her peers. First she was seen with Jake and now Edward.
"We could make them really talk?" Edward teased as he put his arm casually around her shoulder.
"Very funny." Bella pulled his unwanted arm off of her shoulder swiftly.
"Come on live a little." Edward said as he flashed on the onlookers a big shit eating grin.
Bella wanted to punch him in the gut but instead she just walked faster up the stairs hoping like hell she put some distance between them. When she managed to arrive at her locker she was not too surprised to see Alice already there wearing a look that warn her that she was not pleased with Bella.
"Hey." Bella produced a smile although she was a bundle of nerves.
"Is it true? Are you going out with Edward officially." Alice chewed on her lower lip as she stared hard at Bella.
"No. We are just friends." Bella rolled her eyes as she turn her attention back to the contents in her locker.
"What about you and Jake?" Alice swallowed hard preparing herself for the worse news ever.
"Nope. Just friends." Bella laughed bitterly as she pulled out her journal for English class.
"You know you are starting to make a lot of guy friends." Alice sighed as she leaned up against Bella's locker.
"What's wrong with that?" Bella gave her a serious look.
"It's not wrong it's just that well, honestly the guys you are choosing are major hotties here and girls are going to hate you. Also, Miranda and Jake had a big fight last night. He wants a break." Alice explained as she looked up and down the halls for any signs of Miranda.
"Oh no! That sucks." Bella seriously felt badly for Miranda. She knew how it felt to have your heart broken.
"Yes it does. So be on your guard. Rose is going to direct some serious attention your way. And I don't think it will be the good happy fuzzy feeling kind either." Alice warned her as they began to walk toward class.
"Jesus! Why me? I have not done anything to her." Bella whined.
"Maybe not directly but she is going to see Edward's attention to you as a direct insult to her and now with Jake and Miranda having issues and you riding around with him right before he broke up with her sister, well she is going to consider you the cause for Miranda's heart break. She is a real bitch when you cross her but cross Miranda and you have a Godzilla size bitch on your hands." Alice gave her a grave look just as Rose and Miranda made their way down the hall straight toward them.
Bella saw the way Miranda was smiling. It was simply the fakest smile she had ever seen. Rose however appeared to be as happy as a lark. Bella was not sure how to take either of their faces but in her gut she knew today was not going to be the smoothest ever.