Currently Untitled
Rated T for language in this chapter. I know, I know! You've been wondering, TeamJacob, have you fallen off the face of the Earth? Have you been abducted by aliens? Are you going to finish any of your stories? The answer is no, no and eventually. If you've seen my profile lately, life has been hectic. I haven't had a creative bone in my body. The few bits of inspiration have been to design products I sell on teacherspayteachers. Between my job and my master's level course, there is barely reading let alone writing.
This chapter takes place in an AU. The pack has phased, the Cullens are gone, and Bella had lived with Renee in Florida for her teenage years. She's just moved back to Forks to live with Charlie.
"Mommy, I'm scared. What if they don't like me?" a little voice asked timidly.
"Oh, sweetheart. Don't worry. I really think your first day of school is going to be better than you think," Bella assured her son as he laid in bed, stretching out his body.
She laid down beside him and cuddled him against her. Her mind worried about his first day of school. His first day away from her all day. Which of them would be worse off? Finally, she mustered the strength to get them both moving and stood from the bed.
"Okay, Grandpa Charlie's going to be waiting for us downstairs. Time to move, Eli."
The little boy rolled out of bed and rubbed his eyes, stumbling toward the bathroom. Bella watched as he washed his face and brushed his teeth, then led him back to the bedroom. His school uniform was pressed and ready to wear. She helped him tuck in his shirt and tie his brown shoes.
"All set," he announced as he headed downstairs.
"Grandpa!" he chirped when he walked into the kitchen. Charlie sat, sipping coffee and reading the newspaper.
"Eli! Good morning. I can't believe you're old enough for kindergarten. How does the time fly so fast?" Charlie asked his grandson.
Eli shrugged and climbed up into a chair while he waited on his mom to make breakfast. Bella poured a bowl of cereal with milk and a glass of juice.
"My stomach doesn't feel so good," Eli said.
"That's just butterflies because you're excited for something new," Charlie explained. "Don't worry, those will go away when you get to school and see how great it is."
"You think?" he asked.
"I know," Charlie promised.
Eli nibbled on some of the cereal and sipped a bit of juice. It was all Bella could ask for, so she threw in an extra snack into his lunchbox.
"You can watch TV for 15 minutes, but then we've got to leave," Bella let him know. She continued to make her own breakfast, feeling the same butterflies as Eli. She hoped he had a good day and that no one asked about his dad. Poor kid.
Eli and Bella sat in silence while Charlie drove the squad car to Eli's school. They were two choices of schools where Charlie lived. He could go to Forks Elementary or the private school that Bella had chosen. It was smaller and more secure. It made Bella feel better about leaving her son for the day. She only wished they had another car to drive. Her car was being fixed and was going to take a couple more days to be repaired.
Eli held her hand tightly as they walked to the front doors of the school. Bella had to sign in before walking him to his classroom. It was another security feature she appreciated. As they went to the classroom, they passed other kids as anxious about the first day as him. But they also passed kids that were thrilled to be back and were chatting happily.
Mrs. O'Henry met them at the door and greeted Eli, then placed a name tag on his shirt. Her assistant, Miss Joanna, led Eli to a table covered with blocks after Bella gave him a quick kiss. She watched from the window as he stood playing with the blocks, a little blonde girl sidling up to him. Tears formed but she blinked them back and left the school.
"How'd he do?" Charlie asked when she returned to the car.
"Good, I think," she smiled softly.
Charlie looked over at his daughter and saw her watery eyes. "How about you?"
She sniffled a laugh. "Not as good."
"He'll be fine. Don't worry," Charlie told her. "Would you like to borrow Sue's daughter's car? She doesn't use it very much. Spends a lot of time with guys from the res and never seems to need a ride."
"I don't know," Bella hesitated.
"You should take it. It's only a couple of days and I hate the idea of you being without a car. If Eli got sick, you might not be able to get to school."
"Okay. You're right," Bella conceded, though a tad uncomfortable.
"I'll call Sue and have her arrange for Leah to bring it over this morning."
Bella hopped out at the end of the driveway and went into her childhood home. She barely remembered her early years growing up here but she was glad to be home with her father. Thinking back on her tumultuous teenage years, it was no wonder that she ended up pregnant and living with one parent and then the other. However, as a mother, she wanted more stability for her son. Now that she had full custody of him and his biological father was out of the picture, they could start over with her dad.
The best thing to pass time until Leah came with the car was to clean, so that is what Bella set out to do. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail and music was playing when the doorbell rang.
Bella opened the door to find Leah and her eyes immediately found the man standing behind her. His eyes locked with hers and then traveled down her body, blatantly checking her out.
"Hi, Bella," Leah greeted her. "This is my friend, Jacob. He's going to drive me back home." Leah turned to look at Jacob, making a small gasping sound once her eyes landed on his face. She elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to snap out of the trance he seemed to be in.
"Hey," he greeted, still standing frozen.
Bella tore her eyes from his face and smiled at Leah. "Do you guys want to come in for a little bit?"
"No, we've got to get to work. So, don't worry about my car. I've got plenty of friends to get around. Just let me know when you can pick yours up from the shop." Leah handed Bella the keyring from her fingers and turned around to leave.
Bella and Jacob stood staring at each other.
"Jake!" Leah yelled. "Let's go!"
"Bye, Bella," Jake smiled widely as he walked backward toward the car, sprinting around to the driver's side when Leah yelled at him to pick up the pace.
"What was that?" Bella whispered to herself as she shut and locked the front door. Deciding that the house was as good as it was going to get, she ran up the stairs to shower.
As Bella drove into town, she decided to stop in the small hardware store to see what they had before going grocery shopping. She wandered up and down the aisles, looking for things she might want to get to spruce up Charlie's house. The place hadn't been updated since…ever.
As lost in her thoughts as she was, Bella was unaware of the large man standing behind her. She stepped back to look at some items on the top shelf and bumped into him.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she apologized as she turned to look at him.
"No problem, gorgeous," the man grinned at her. She couldn't help but smile back at him. He was pretty good looking as well.
"Can I help you find something?" He offered.
"I'm not sure what I'm looking for," she admitted.
"Mmm," he started. "Interesting."
Bella laughed softly. She turned around and continued her perusal of home improvement products.
A while later, Bella had a bag of new cabinet knobs, a gallon of paint and some brushes together. She went toward the front of the store to check out. After she set her things on the counter, she could feel the presence behind her. Without turning her head all of the way, she noticed the man was standing behind her.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear.
"Will your husband approve of that paint color?"
She smirked. "Since I'm not married, I don't think he'd care at all."
"Then perhaps you need some help painting," he continued to flirt with her.
"Well, I'm actually pretty handy, but thanks for the offer," she smiled, batting her eyelashes, enjoying a bit of attention from the sexy man.
"I'm Paul," he said, extending his hand to her.
"Bella," she answered, placing her hand lightly in his. He rubbed his thumb over her fingers. She pulled back slightly.
"Next!" The clerk hollered out, gaining both of their attention.
Bella left the store, smiling widely, and headed to the grocery store. She grabbed a cart and her list. Since she was unfamiliar with the layout, it took her awhile to finish buying everything on her list. But, there would be enough food for at least 2 weeks in the house. Charlie had mentioned his few dinner specialties and Bella made sure to get the ingredients he needed.
She unloaded the cart onto the belt, trying to keep the cold things together.
"Did you follow me here?" she heard in that familiar voice.
Glancing up, she saw Paul in line behind her.
"Shouldn't I ask you, since I'm the one with all these groceries?" she asked as she looked at his small basket.
"Ha!" He laughed. "Good point. Just coincidence. But I'm wondering if it's fate that we keep bumping into each other."
"Maybe," she said, as she turned to speak with the grocery clerk that was ringing up her groceries. She waved good-bye as she followed out the kid with the cart to Leah's car. The kid was loading the trunk when Paul jogged up to her.
"You know Leah?" He questioned.
"Well, my dad does. She let me borrow her car while mine is getting repaired."
"That sucks but I'm glad you have a ride. If you ever need one, you could give me a call. I don't mind picking you up."
"I'll keep that in mind, Paul. Thanks," she shut the trunk and walked to the driver's side. She noticed he hadn't moved from his spot as she drove away.
It seemed as though the day went by in a flash and Bella was heading to the school to pick up Eli. The kindergarten students got out half an hour before the rest of the school.
As soon as Eli's teacher let him out the door, he ran to Bella and leaped into her arms. She carried him to the car as he chattered nonstop about his first day at school. Thankfully, the day was a great success.
Eli filled Charlie in on his day all during dinner. Everything from who played with which blocks to who needed to go the bathroom during lunchtime was listed to the amusement of Charlie and Bella.
The rest of the week flew by just as quickly with Eli spending his entire dinner time talking about his day. It seemed he was learning more about his peers than he was about anything school-related at that point, but Bella knew that would change. She was glad that Eli fit in and seemed to love his teachers.
On Saturday, Charlie had invited Bella and Eli to his friend's house in La Push. He didn't give her a lot of details, just told her that his friends got together often for dinners and card games. She tried to get Charlie to let them drive separately so she could leave if she felt bored, but he promised she would have a great time.
Charlie agreed that he could drive Leah's car, at the very least, and he pulled into the front yard of a little red house. There were a few cars there already and some people could be seen standing in the backyard. Bella was pleasantly surprised that there were some people her age in the crowd. Eli followed Charlie in the front door, talking to his Grandpa about anything and everything he could think of. Bella followed behind carrying a covered dish.
She was a little taken back by the crowd in the small living room, but Charlie introduced them to everyone. Smiling and waving, Bella's heart was hammering in her chest, impatient to be out of the spotlight. She beelined to the kitchen to set down the dish with a spread of other casseroles on the table. Glancing around, she was glad that she didn't bring potato or pasta salad since there seemed to be plenty of those.
"Looks good. Did you make that?" a voice asked from behind her.
She turned to see Paul leaning casually against the wall.
"Paul! Hi! I had no idea you would be here," Bella responded.
"I had no idea you were Charlie's daughter," he smirked.
"Mommy!" Eli called loudly as he walked up to Bella. "You have to come out back. They have a big swing. Will you come swing with me? Please!"
"Sure, sweetheart. Let's go," Bella told him.
Paul followed them out to the bench swing in the backyard. Eli sat in the middle of them, as Paul gently swung it with his long legs.
"Faster! Higher!" Eli chanted.
"Eli, this isn't that kind of swing. This is a gentle and slow swing," Bella tried to calm down her son.
"Aw, man," he pouted.
"There's a tire swing around the side," a new voice added. Bella looked up to see Jacob staring hard at Paul. She wondered why he looked so mad, but she grabbed Eli's hand and took him to the suggested swing by the side of the house. As she walked, she glanced back to see that Paul had stood and was toe to toe with Jacob.
What was that about? She wondered.
Eli took her attention away from the men, as she helped him climb on the tire and start swinging him. He begged her again to go higher and faster. She struggled against the weight of the large tire, but she was also afraid that the whole contraption would fall at any time.
"It's sturdy, don't worry," Jacob said as he walked up beside Bella. "Do you mind if I give him a push?"
Bella shook her head and watched as Jacob effortlessly pushed the tire away from him, much to Eli's delight.
"More! More!" The little boy called out over and over. She watched as Jacob seemed to be having as much fun pushing Eli as Eli was having on the swing itself.
Eli decided that he had enough of the swing just as it reached the highest point of the swing.
"No! Eli!" Bella shouted as she saw his leg start to swing over the huge tire.
Jake darted after him and grabbed hold of the rope with one hand and the young boy with the other. Bella darted after him to grab Eli from his arms. Jake didn't let go of him. He turned his body so that Bella could see he was okay, and bounced him lightly.
"You've got to be more careful, buddy, or you're going to give your mom a heart attack," Jacob smiled at the boy and tickled his stomach. "I think that's enough swinging for today. How about a game of catch instead? We have a big ball. Let's go get it."
Bella stood stock still as she watched a man she barely knew walk off with her son. It was hard but she didn't feel the terror she was expecting. Leah called her over to a line of lawn chairs. Bella sat beside her and watched as some of the other children and Jake tossed the big ball around.
"Isn't it amazing how $3 at Target can entertain any boy, large or small, for hours?" Leah finally spoke. "How was his first week at school?"
"Good. It was real good." Bella didn't take her eyes of the game for a second. The close call with the tire making her even more concerned about Eli getting hurt.
"He'll be fine. Jake won't take his eyes off him." Leah commented as she watched the other woman track the game. "Why don't we get a drink and some food?"
"I'm not hungry yet. I'll wait," Bella replied.
"Trust me, girl. If you don't eat before these pigs, there won't be any food left. Come on. I promise Eli will be completely safe. We will come right back out with the food."
Reluctantly, Bella followed Leah inside. Just at the door, she called out to Eli that she was going inside for food. He yelled back "ok" as he continued to laugh and play.
Bella looked at the mountain of food on the table and figured Leah was exaggerating only to get her to come in the house. She made quick work of assembling two plates for herself and her son. Carefully balancing the plates, a soda and a juice box in her arms, she made it back outside.
Eli came over to eat with Bella at Jake's insistence. He promised the boy he'd sit with him after he made his own dinner. They balanced the plates on their legs and ate in comfortable silence. Jacob sat on the other side of Eli, balancing two plates on his legs. Bella couldn't believe the amount of food he had. Her eyes discreetly looked over his fit body. She figured that he must work out regularly if he could look that good and eat that much food.
Bella glanced up at the door and she saw Paul come out, carrying two plates as well. She looked to her left and saw the empty chair, gesturing to him. He stared blankly at her and walked the other direction, sitting with his back to her. She stared at the group of large men, sitting in a circle, laughing and talking loudly. It didn't pass her by that they were all extraordinarily large and strikingly similar in looks.
"So, Bella, what are you doing later?" Jacob asked, his eyes glued to his food.
"Nothing really. Charlie drove us here, so I'm kind of at his mercy," Bella admitted.
"Oh man. Really?" Jake laughed. "Guess he got a DD out of you."
"DD?" she asked.
"Designated Driver. Did he tell you how these card nights usually end up with him passed out on our couch?" he chuckled.
"No. He didn't," Bella groaned.
Jake looked at her finally when he started talking again. "If you want, I could head back early with you. We could watch a movie at your place, Charlie could crash on the couch like he always does."
"I'll think about it," Bella answered, but Eli shouted, "Yeah!" at the same time.
"Is that a yes, then?" Jake smiled, giving his eyebrows a quirk.
"Sure," she grinned back.
"God damn it, Paul! You asshole!" someone screamed from the group on the other side of the yard. She looked over as Paul stormed off to the front of the house. One of the men from the group stood, brushing food from the front of his shirt.
"Hey! Language!" Jacob yelled across the yard at them. "Morons," he mumbled.
"Mommy says calling people morons isn't nice," Eli informed him innocently.
"Your mommy is right, Eli. Sorry about that," Jacob bit back the smile he was feeling after the correction. Paul was causing an issue and Jake had already warned him off in more than one way. It seemed he wasn't going to let Bella alone quietly.