Disclaimer: I do not own the 'Twilight' series or any of the respective characters created by the wonderful Stephanie Meyer. This is merely a work of fanfiction written by a devoted fan, who can't get enough of vampires and wolves and hopeless romance. I also do not own any of the song lyrics used in this chapter.

A.N. Here it is, as promised – the swift continuation of 'that' cliff hanger. Enjoy! ^.^

So without much further ado…


Chapter 12: "Two for Company, Three's a Crowd, Four's a Party"

"Jake…?" I barely whispered, having suddenly lost my voice to the possibility that he was getting ready to lean closer towards me. If he loved 'somebody' like my dad loved my mom, then surely he'd be showing her by now? Like… with a kiss? I tried to calm my rapidly beating heart and swallow it back as it leapt into my throat with a dozen, giddy butterflies erupting in my stomach. This was it. Jake was going to kiss me!

So why was he leaning in the opposite direction? Why was his jaw suddenly clenching, like he'd just chewed down on whatever he was feeling or wanted to say.

"I mean – theoretically speaking." He suddenly added, like a tagged on after thought to save him from whatever had just undeniably sparked between us. To top it off, his gaze drifted to the side, and I could see the muscles tightened in his jaw again, like he was struggling with his words. "I wouldn't, tear someone's heart out, like that."

Funny that, because it sure as hell felt like he'd tore out mine, and was now holding it out for me like some cruel joke.

My confused eyes searched his face, shifting left and right as it painfully dawned on me that he was holding back. It wasn't just wishful thinking. He was actually lying to me right now. I could see it written all over his face; from the tortured frown lines down to the twist of his mouth into a more serious line. Jacob Black – what is it you're not telling me!?

"Is there someone you love?" I suddenly demanded to know, impatiently wanting to force the secret out of him; right here, right now, before the moment was completely lost. "Like that? Like... my dad loves my mom?"

He took a step back then, creating a cold gap between us. All I could do was watch with a painfully bated breath of my own, as he closed his eyes and tensed up. Already, I was trying to think of the possibilities. Either he loved me – which would be utterly incredible and amazing – or he loved someone else. But who? Leah? Didn't that conflict with what he'd just said, about never leaving the one he loved behind? What about all those times that he said he'd follow me, pretty much to the edge of the Earth and back?

It had to be me.

"No," he finally breathed the word like a strained breath. "I don't love anyone like... Edward loves Bella." Or not. "It was just... a theory, Ness. Forget I said it."

How could I just forget a 'theory' like that, when he'd been staring right at me when he said it!? Like a statement meant for me, and if not me, then who else?! Those butterflies were suddenly set on fire by my boiling blood, and heat sizzled through me as I lost control over my reigned back emotions. Anger bubbled to the surface, manifesting in my contorting expression, followed by my snappy voice.

"I'm going back to the hotel," I announced. My voice climbed higher though, as I shot back a warning to him before I broke into determined steps. "And if I were you Jake, I wouldn't follow me right now."

"Ness –"

"Don't!" I snapped back before he could even finish whatever his thought was.

"Nessie!" He tried again, but I just ignorantly quickened my steps without so much as a glance over my shoulder. "Wait –"

"Just, leave me alone Jacob!" I'd never spoken his name with such venom before, nor had I raced so quickly away from him, without expecting him to chase me or beat me to the finish line. To my relief, I didn't hear or feel him following. I did however, hear the distinct sound of foot meets trashcan; and the various contents spilling out into the road. I wished I had something to kick or punch right now too – preferably the guy responsible for my emotional rollercoaster; but at least I had the satisfaction of the ground pounding against my feet. That would have to suffice.

It was only a ten minute walk back to the hotel, but I must've managed it in less than five. Maybe later, when I was calm, I'd kick myself for not giving Jake time to explain himself, and for ultimately being a hypocrite. It was okay for me to lie to him, constantly, but the second he lied to me in return, I bolted? And that's if he was even lying. Maybe he really didn't love anyone, like that. Maybe it was 'just' a theory.

Shaking my head, I dug my hands in my jeans pocket, and yanked the room key free. Good thing I'd been the one to pocket it, else I'd be standing outside the door looking like an idiot, until Jake inevitably came back. If… he came back. Oh course he's coming back, I reassured myself with a determined huff. Slamming the door shut and locking it from the inside, I decided that he'd have to knock and be let in when I decided I was ready to inevitably continue and conclude our conversation.

Even with the window left open, the room still smelt of Jake, which didn't help my mood right now. I wanted to be angry with him for his emotional constipation, and stay angry at him, until he knocked on the door. Instead, my attention was suddenly drawn to the fact that the TV had been switched on, casting an ominous blue gaze throughout the otherwise dark and unlit room.

That was… weird. I know that we'd left the window open, but neither of us had switched the TV on before we left. My thought immediately left Jake, as I felt goose bumps lift up along the bare skin of my arms. Had… someone been in our room?

Instantly inhaling the air, all I caught was the lingering scent of Jake, mixed with my own scent, and the various mixed fragrances of spice, white musk, and lavender. No other fresh human scents, or otherwise. So, why was the TV switched on?

I started back-tracking my steps. The door had definitely been locked, which meant that if anyone had entered the room in our absence, they either had a key, or… my eyes flickered to the window. I was so in the mood for a fight right now, which is probably why I fearlessly – and recklessly – dashed towards the open window. As I leaned out though, and glanced down, up, left and right, there was nothing. No signs of movement along with exterior wall, or in the car park below for that matter.

But if someone had been in the room, why couldn't I smell them? Stepping away from the window, completely baffled, I started to inspect the contents of the room itself, trying hard with a furrowed brow to remember how it had looked before we'd left for the evening. The bathroom door had been open – check. The suitcase had been on the bed – check. Had I left it open though, or closed? It was currently closed, but unzipped. I was sure that if I had closed it, I would've zipped it up too. Flicking the flap open, I inspected the contents. They'd been disturbed, but then, both Jake and I had rummaged through the case already at various points. It was impossible to remember how it had looked exactly.

A nervous hand lifted to tuck a ringlet curl behind my ear, as it dawned on me that there were no clear answers to my questions. The more I thought about it though, the more I suddenly felt uneasy in the room. Whether my imagination was suddenly switched on an over-active overdrive, or my intuition was just reacting; I suddenly wanted to be out of this room. No – not just the room; I needed to be out of the city. I also bitterly regretted telling Jake not to follow me, because right now, I wanted him – needed him, more than ever.

Throwing as many of our things as I could find in the suitcase, I did a quick sweep of the bathroom before zipping the case up again. Slinging my rucksack over my shoulder, I suddenly remembered to pick my phone up from the bedside table; before suddenly second guessing myself as to whether that was even the place where I'd left it behind.

This was getting way too freaky now, which is why I wasted no more time in reaching for the door handle and pulling the door towards me with enough force to make the hinges creak. Stepping into the corridor, I didn't ever bother shutting the door behind me properly, as I started down the long, narrow hallway. I didn't get far though, before the approach of footsteps coming towards me, started to press against the plush blue carpet in urgent pads. Thankfully, I smelt the intruder before I saw him, and realised it wasn't an intruder at all.

At first, Jake said nothing, as he paused to process the fact that I had my suitcase and my rucksack. I didn't give him time to question me though, as I sped towards him and let him still me with the snatch of his hands around my arms.

"I'm not staying here," I bluntly announced, before realised that I should probably explain why first. "Someone's been in the room, Jake."

"What!?" He practically growled, and all I could do was look over my shoulder in response. I heard him inhale deeply, and either my sense of smell was out of tune, or he smelt what I had – nothing.

"Are you sure?" Came his next question, even though he was already dashing towards the door before waiting for my answer.

"Yes," I uttered, hesitating to follow him. Seriously, just the sight of that TV on was creepy enough, and it was already burned in the back of my brain. I was going to have nightmares for a week at this rate. Even now, as Jake opened the door, I could see the blue glare of the screen shinning on him before he disappeared through the doorway. I heard him moving around a little, before he reappeared, looking as confused as I'd been.

"I can't smell anything," he gingerly announced, as he stepped towards me. "You didn't switch the TV on?"

"No," I shuddered. "It was on when I got in the room – that's what freaked me out so much."

"And the door was shut?"

"Yes," I really did snap this time. "It was locked. Only the window was open, like we left it."

That's when he suddenly snatched the suitcase from me in one hand, and the room keys from the other. "We're getting out of here," he stated.

For once, I had no reason to argue. The thought of staying in the room after our little argument had been daunting enough, but now, it was a sure impossibility.

"Should I call Carlisle?" I asked quickly as I kept in step with his quick strides towards the elevator. We were on the 5th floor, and could've easily taken the stairs, if there weren't probably security cameras everywhere. So we had to play it safe, which meant not moving even half as fast as we could have down the corridor.

"No," Jake snapped. "First we get out the hell of here, and then, we think about what to do next."

When we finally made it back down to the foyer after one hell of an awkwardly silent elevator trip, Jake said nothing as he tossed the room keys on the reception desk. I could hear the concerned receptionist calling us back, trying to ascertain what was wrong with the room. Jake just grabbed my arm though, and tugged me with him through the main doors. We crossed the car park in a matter of seconds, and he released me so I could cross around to the passenger seat. Meanwhile, he practically threw the suitcase on the back seat, before diving into the driver's seat and slamming the door shut. The engine roared to life, and suddenly, we were back on the road.

So much for a night in the city, and a day of sightseeing tomorrow morning.

"What if we're over-reacting?" I finally broke the tense silence. "I mean, what doesn't leave a scent behind!?" Everything had a scent, didn't it? Whether it was a human, vampire, shapeshifter or werewolf – not that I'd ever smelt a true child of the moon. I figured they smelt like shifters though, or just like, wet dog.

"I dunno Ness," Jake muttered from behind grit teeth. "All I know is; something didn't feel right about that room." Ok, so at least we could both agree on our intuition being shaken a little. Call it '6th sense' or 'supe senses'… at least we could both agree that we'd both sensed a disturbance.

"It's… almost like they wanted us to know," I spoke my thoughts out loud. "I mean, leaving the TV on like that - you wouldn't do that unless you wanted to make it obvious that you'd been there."

I glanced over at the silent Jake, and saw his jaw clench and he focused on the road. He was already speeding beyond the city limit, and just ran through a red light without a care.

"Jake," I warned. "Slow down!"

"No way," he countered, though his voice was dangerously low. "I'm getting us out of the city."

I heard a car horn beeping behind us, as we narrowly avoided collision. "JAKE!" I practically screamed, but he just changed gears into 5th.

"NOT now Nessie!" It was his alpha voice, growling back at me and silently telling me to sit back and shut up so he could focus on driving. Another car spun behind us, as he kept heading down the main east street. Nervously, my hand reached for the seat belt, and I quickly tugged and locked it in place. I was just in time, because now it was time for our car to spin, as Jake hit the brakes slightly to turn a sharp corner.

"Are you crazy!?"

He didn't answer, just slammed his foot down again and brought us speeding towards the edge of the city. I don't know how he managed to avoid the law, but lady luck must've been on our side, because not a single siren chased after us as we reached the outskirts of the city. Instead of slowing down though, Jake just sped up as we turned onto the open freeway. He was easily pushing the 90 mark before the city lights were a spec in the dark behind us, but thankfully, there weren't so many cars to weave around now we were out of the city. As much as I wanted to feel relieved to be away from the hotel, I couldn't relax in the tense presence of Jake and his utterly reckless driving. Perhaps I would've been okay with it, if we'd been running free, rather than reliant on the car. From the way his heart thundered so heavily, I knew he probably wanted to shift more than anything right now, and let his hind legs propel him even faster into the night without the constraint of roads and signage and rules.

"How far to West Virginia?" He suddenly asked. I didn't need to consult my phone or a map to hazard a guess.

"About a – another thousand miles?"

"So that's like what, 24 hours?"

It was actually more like eighteen, but I wasn't about to tell him that. "Jake, you can't just drive non-stop to West Virginia. Don't be ridiculous!"

"No, but I can get us as close as possible, and as far away from Sioux Falls and South Dakota as I can in the next couple'a hours."

It only then occurred to me that we were driving east, when we should have been heading south, straight down the borderline of Nebraska and through to Iowa. Instead, this route was taking us to Minnesota.

"We're going the wrong way."

"No," he corrected. "We're just taking the route that isn't marked on the map."

I realised then that if someone had been searching our hotel room, they probably would have found our road map. So it was a 50/50 chance that they'd still be following us right now, unless, they wanted us to freak out and change directions? It was still a 50/50 probability… but inevitably, they'd still know where our finally destination was, which is what bothered me most of all.

"Are we still heading for Mill Creek?"

"Yeah," he confidently confirmed. "Unless Alice calls before we get there."

Staring dead ahead at the road, I stopped to collate all this rapid-fire information. Most of my family were on a plane right now, which would probably be landing soon. If they were in any danger though, they would never have even boarded the plane. Meanwhile, Carlisle and Emmett were in Forks, with the addition of the pack's protection. If they were in any danger, they wouldn't have stayed behind. The only people who were potentially in danger right now, were the two people that Alice couldn't see.

"Stop the car," I suddenly demanded. The city was barely behind us, and the next sign of civilisation was probably another fifteen or twenty minutes away, but I didn't care. I was so tired of running. When Jake ignored me though, and even had the audacity to push the meter further, I completely lost my tether with him.

"I said stop the car Jacob!" Not giving him time to ignore me this time, my hand reached for the passenger door, and I forced it open. Bye-bye safety lock. He instantly slammed his foot down on the break as soon as the rush of air hit him, along with the realisation that I was prepared to jump out the moving vehicle.

"Fuck!" He cursed, and I quickly slammed the door shut again as he in turn trying to control the car as we spun off the freeway and onto the dirt trail beyond. My shoulder slammed against the door, threatening to shove it open again if it hadn't of been for my seatbelt tugging me back. Bracing myself as we spun, I heard the suitcase spill off the backseat, alongside Jake's continuous cursing as he frantically turned the wheel to stablise our momentum.

The car finally skid to a complete stop, and with a jerk I bounced forwards and back against the car seat. Even though the car had stopped though, my heart was still beating frantically, and just like Jake, I stared ahead as I tried to calm myself down. I think that was the craziest thing I'd ever done in my whole seven years – 'almost' seven be damned right now. Jake was quick to remind me, about the crazy part, as he suddenly snapped his head in my direction.

"What the hell Ness? Are you fucking crazy!? Why would you even -?!"

Taking a deep breath, I frantically fumbled with my seat belt until I head the snag of the lock coming loose.

"Ness!" Jake barked at me, but my hand just reached for the door and in the blink of an eye, I'd pushed myself free from the car. It was too stuffy, and tense in there. I needed space, and clean air. I needed to think, because right now, yes, I felt like I really was going crazy.

On cue, I heard the driver's door slam shut too, followed by hasty steps across the mixture of sun-dried dirt and red gravel stones. In spite of me needing space right now, I still found myself crossing around the car bonnet, mirroring Jake without even needing to look up and take notice of his direction. I heard his palm slam down on the bonnet as he sharply weaved his way to the right. Putting a hand to my hip, and the other hand to the back of my head, I gripped a handful of my hair as I kept walking straight.

"I can't do this anymore," I finally said. To my relief, my words had Jake stilling by the car bonnet, allowing me to take a few steps forward. I could hear his heart beat hammering still, like he was competing against my own.

"I'm sick, and I'm tired of constantly running away." Swallowing back against the nervous lump in my throat, I finally tilted my head to cast a glance over my shoulder.

If it was my 'fate' to be chased across the entire continent by an untraceable force, then so be it. Let whatever or whoever it was find me, and face me, head on. It was time to be brave, and face up to my future, starting with Jacob.

"No more running Jake," I firmly stated, as I turned from the feet up to face him full-on. "From anything or… or from anyone."

The way he was staring back at me so intently as he heaved heavy breaths into his lungs, filled me with confidence. It was like we were trapped in our own bubble, and nothing else mattered around us; just me, and him. I know we'd only been on the road for what, three days? But my feelings for him had been there a lot longer, slowly getting stronger and stronger until here I was, struggling to even breath if it meant holding onto this secret for any longer. I had to tell him. I had to set myself free from his torturous agony, even if it meant rejection. At least then, I could face whatever was hunting me down, knowing that I had no regrets.

I guess all those novels and plays that I've read have turned me into a real drama queen, but whatever. This is my story – my life. In the moment, in the here and the now, I knew exactly what I wanted; and it was staring right at me.

"I…" My courage waned slightly, as I struggled for the right words. "There's something I need to tell you, Jake."

Tentatively, I stepped towards him, and noticed how his body tensed. How his lips parted, to gape at me, and how it was now his turn to brace himself as he leaned back against the car bonnet. He lowered his body slightly, so he could rest his rear against the sturdy metal.

I can do this, I told myself as I stopped in front of him. No, better yet, I could show him. I didn't need any further words, when all I had to do, was carefully lift my right hand, until the pads of my fingertips and the flat of my palm gently pressed against his left cheek. His skin was burning hotter than usual, and I felt him actually flinch under my touch. I didn't let his initial reaction dissuade me though, as my eyes searched his and begged him not to run. I saw his pupils dilate, as he focused on me, and that's when I pushed my thoughts and emotions through to the other side.

I didn't mean for it to be an explosion of frozen and moving images against vibrant colours and sounds, but it was hard for me to concentrate on one sole emotion, and even harder for me to focus on just one thing that I loved about Jacob. Whilst trying to think about how happy and safe he made me feel in a rush of warm pinks and tangerine hues, I was also thinking about how he could disarm me with a single look, or signature grin. I pictured his face in all its' beauty, and his smile that shone down on me like the sun. Gasping, I felt myself actually getting warmer, because the rays of his warmth were kissing my skin even now. I thought back to all those times we'd ran together, laughing in unison. I thought of our last baseball match, and couldn't stop the image of our collision and how amazing his body resting over mine had felt. How I'd wanted him to kiss me, even then. I imagined what it would feel like to have his lips pressed against mine, and my thoughts instantly shifted to the memory of him holding me close to him, as we sat on my bed. My tear-stained face calming to the reassurance of his lips pressed against my forehead.

I suddenly felt strong hands grasping either side of my hips, and fingers pressing against the inconsequential barrier of my jeans. The contact forced my thoughts to shift to my Dirty Dancing dream; our pelvis' rocking and grinding together whilst his hand slid down my bare stomach. With a gasp, I closed my eyes, trying to refocus my thoughts. I thought of our ore recent slow dance instead, and the butterflies that had erupted in my belly, and the tingle down my spine when I'd felt Jake's breath against me. The same tingling sensation I'd felt when he'd held me close to him in the pacific ocean, letting our bodies rock to the waves, even as they threatened to push us further out to sea.

The same tingling sensation I felt now, as the tip of his nose brushed against mine, together with his forehead leaning against me. Eyes fluttering open to re-focus on the real Jake, who was just inches away from me now, I breathed against him as I uttered the only words I needed to say right now.

"I'm falling… fallen, for you, Jake."

And at last, at long long last, he closed the gap and prevented any further need to speak. The moment that our lips lightly touched, and my bated breath was caged behind the sensation of just me against him; I dropped my hand to his neck. Then, he pulled me against him, wasting no time in tilting his head slightly so he could claim just my upper lip more fervently between his. It may have been my first kiss, but I'd seen a dozen performed on the screen. Besides, it was just base, natural instinct to react by sucking on his bottom lip, which was likewise caught between my parted lips.

It was then, as I felt myself willingly leaning towards him, letting his body alone support my weight, that I murmured against him softly. His hands crept up, firmly holding my waist and keeping me in place, so he could lean back slightly without me following. Our lips unlocked, and with eyes dancing around my face, he smiled as he lifted a hand to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear.

"I've already fallen," he simply said in a huskier voice. I didn't need to hear anything else. I didn't need any more confirmation or clarity. Pushing against his restraint, my lips found his again, as a match was struck between us. All my pent-up frustration burnt through me, fuelling my impatience to skip past the 'first tender kiss' phase to a more passionate and needy make-out session at 200 degrees. I felt the metal of the hubcap against my shins, as I stepped completely between Jake's thighs. Felt his entire arm circle around my back, pushing me against him as he leant back against the bonnet with just one arm supporting us both. I felt the glorious press of my breasts against his hardened chest, and the echo of his heartbeat vibrating against me.

"I'm –" He tried to speak in between kisses, whilst I was trying my hardest not to just, climb over him right now. His lips tasted so good, but I wanted to taste his skin too. Starting with the adorable dimple on his chin. "Crazy about you Ness." He finally said, as I ducked my head to do just that.

"Not as crazy as I feel about you," I murmured against him, as I nipped his chin between my flat teeth. If this was now a competition to judge who was crazy about who more, then I was determined to prove myself the winner.

Suddenly, I felt my back hit the cold metal of the car bonnet, as our positions were reversed with a simple turn. The metal creaked under the sudden force of my body being pushed against it, but then my bottom lip was caught between Jake's lips, and the cold metal beneath me was gone. With his arm slipping beneath my arching back, I let him pull me with him, as he leaned back.

"This is crazy," he tried to reason as he tucked his chin to escape my needy mouth. With an anxious gasp, my hand clutched the back of his neck, and tried to pull him back to me. I was pretty certain that my cheeks were flushed bright red, but if my mouth wasn't swollen right now, then we weren't done kissing.

Jake resisted me though, and stood up straight instead, forcing my arm to slip from his shoulder. Sitting up straight too, I took a moment to stare at his expanding chest, and inhaled an equally deep breath into my own strained lungs. Okay, so maybe I had got a little bit carried away, but what did he expect? I had six months of pent up frustration to release!

"We're like sitting ducks out here."

I flashed an ironic smile at him, as adrenaline tingled through me once more. Being with Jake was such a rush, even more than I'd expected or envisioned in my many dreams and wild fantasies.

"I don't care," I confessed. Leaning forwards, I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned my head against his chest. Anyone would be brainless to just try to attack us right now. We were unstoppable… Bulletproof… Radioactive.

"I care," Jake retorted firmly. I just hugged him a little tighter, stubbornly enjoying his warmth for a while longer. Both our bodies tensed as one though, as our ears pricked to the sudden alert of a high pitched wailing in the distance, getting closer, and closer.

"Oh shit," I heard Jake curse, before pushing away from me. Feet skidding in the dirt, he rounded the car bonnet and the driver's door pulled open in a matter of seconds.

Realising what the incoming wails meant, I remembered how he'd drove like a madman through the city streets, and had seemingly managed to avoid the attention of the law. Not for much longer though, if those sirens had anything to do with the fact that we'd probably broken several road laws before stopping here. It was the only realisation I needed to cross round to the other side of the car, and jump into the passenger seat.

Jake turned the car keys, igniting the engine just as red lights could be seen racing down the freeway behind us in the rear view mirror. "What are you waiting for?" I barked, as rather than slam his foot down, Jake's hands instead rested on the wheel. "C'mon Jake, we can outrun them!"

Funny, coming from me; the person who'd just declared that she was tired of running. Well, it seemed that Jake was tired too, because with the flick of his wrist, the engine suddenly cut off.

"Not this time, Ness." He sombrely sighed, and suddenly pushed the driver's door open. I knew why he did it; because otherwise we'd be chased all the way to the next city. We'd have to deviate and keep running from the law, until our sins eventually caught up with us. There was no way we could start a new life in West Virginia, if we were still on the run from the law. There was no way we could resume our old lives again, if our alternate identities were that of fugitives on the run.

We had to give ourselves up, and face the consequences of 'Jacob Wolfe' and his reckless driving. I'm pretty sure that 'Mr. Wolfe' wouldn't be allowed on the road again any time soon; at least not anywhere in the vicinity of South Dakota and Minnesota.

Grabbing my phone, I made sure to shove it in my back pocket, as I too exited the vehicle. Whilst the police car finally slowed to a stop ahead of us, Jake simply lifted his hands up in defeat, as red and blue lights surrounded us both. Two cops got out; one shone his torch on Jake's face, and then mine. The other shone his torch on our vehicle license plate, and then nodded to his partner. The flashlights were hardly necessary though – it was barely 10pm after all, and still light enough. I figured they were doing it for the sheer authority effect.

"That's the one," he confirmed. I glanced to Jake, but he was staring ahead, keeping his cool as the older of the two cops stepped towards him.

"Having quite the wild night, aren't you." He rhetorically stated. "Four red lights, and 20miles over the limit. D'you know what that means, sonny Jim?"

I knew exactly what that meant, and more, as the cop suddenly forced Jake to lean against the car so he could cuff his wrists. Meanwhile, the other cop approached me, with the bright white flashlight shining directly at my eyes.

The plain and simple answer? My parents were going to kill us both…


To be continued in Chapter 13: "Grounded"