To answer a few question, Bella and Edward started saying 'I love you' just out of nowhere. They do love each other and it's plain in each other's eyes… and actions. Ha! They don't have to hide it, and they know that. So… I hope that clears up all the confusion.

Enjoy, folks!

Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, I am not Stephenie Meyer.

CHAPTER 13: LET THE JELOUSY BEGIN

Arriving to my house, I saw that my mother's Volkswagen was already parked in the driveway.

"Great," I breathed angrily.

"What are you going to tell her?"

"The truth? I don't know. You know as well as I do that I can't lie… at least not to her face."

"Well, whatever it is you say, be gentle. I don't want your mother to get a restraining order against me. After all, your father is chief of police."

I sighed deeply.

"I love you," Edward continued. "Call me, let me know what happens."

"Okay." I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before exiting his car.

Edward didn't wait for me to reach the door before he drove off. I guessed it was because he was just as nervous as I was. The walk to my front door felt like milliseconds, rather than minutes, though I tried to take as much time as possible. Reaching the door, I pushed it open quietly. I debated on whether I should run straight to my room or just get the scolding done and over with. I decided on running straight to my room.

Unfortunately, I only made it passed the kitchen before my mother called out my name.

"Bella," she said. "I know your there. Can you come in here, please? I need to speak to you."

Crushed, I walked into the kitchen. Her back was facing me, she didn't turn when I entered, giving me the opportunity to wipe the sweat from my face and control my breathing.

"Hey."

She turned then, to look me straight in the face. For a moment, I was surprised to see my mother's face so calm, but the longer she stayed quiet, the more anxious I began to feel.

"I'm sorry!" I yelled after a moment, completely defeated. "I know I shouldn't have snuck out. I know it was wrong, and I won't do it again. I promise."

"Where did you go?" she asked in a low, calm voice. I would have preferred the yelling, not this. It made me feel even more guilty.

"Edward's house." I decided on telling the truth.

"What did you do at Edward's house? Why did you go to Edward's house?" I could see her calm mask cracking at the edges.

"Aw mom, nothing happened! We just… hung out." Instead of meeting her curious gaze, I shifted my eyes towards the wall behind her. I prayed she didn't notice.

"Hung out? So that's what they call it now, huh? Alright. Well, you are still grounded and if I ever catch you sneaking out late at night again, or if I find out you snuck out, I swear you'll be sorry."

I nodded.

My mother turned her back to me once more and continued working on dinner. She must have looked up a recipe on the internet, because there were scattered bits of spices and food ingredients I didn't recognize, all over the counter. Not to mention the small scribbled piece of paper in her hand. I smiled at her before turning towards my room. My mother was an experimental cook. I could only hope that tonight's meal would be edible.

Once safely behind the wall s of my room, I dropped myself onto my bed. Edward and I, just moments before he dropped me off at my house, did try to hunt down my Economics professor. Luckily, I found him in the parking lot. He must have thought something was horribly wrong because he was wearing the strangest look on his face as I dashed to his car.

"What's the matter Ms, Swan?" he asked.

"Sir, I'm so sorry I missed the exam. There was an unexpected family emergency and um, I just couldn't get away. Please, please sir! Is there any way I could make it up?! I will be available at any time anywhere. Please!"

He must have understood my desperation because he gave me a time and date to meet with him. I smiled smugly to myself for just a moment. I made up the 'family emergency' excuse right on the spot. To be honest, I was a little surprised I was so convincing, but all in all, I couldn't complain. I got my chance to retake the exam. What more could I ask for?

While rambling in my thoughts, I suddenly felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Flipping it open, I saw it was Edward.

"Hi," I answered calmly.

"Not in too much trouble, I see," Edward said in a calm voice like velvet. "What happened?"

"Well, my mom knows I snuck out to spend the night with you. I told her we just hung out, but I'm not sure if she was completely convinced."

"Was she pissed?"

"Yeah, but I think she handled it fairly well. It was really creepy at first, actually. When I walked into the kitchen to meet her, she was all calm and controlled. I was expecting a rampage, but at least she didn't have a knife in her hand."

"There's always that," he chuckled. "Are you still grounded?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Sorry about that. Well, I'm gonna go. Emmett's eyeing me right now. Something's wrong with his Jeep. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Sure."

"Love you."

"I… love you too." I still felt a little awkward telling Edward I loved him, but it was nice to know I could express my feelings openly now.

He chuckled softly again. "Bye, love."

"Bye."

I was about to close my phone, when I heard a sudden shout from the receiver. "Oh! Oh, God, Edward! Yes! YES! Hahahaha!" It was Emmett's voice. Flushing from my chin to my hair line, I quickly flipped my phone shut.

Great! I thought. Now I'm going to have to deal with Emmett's constant teasing, I groaned. This day keeps getting better and better.

The strong smell of burned food didn't surprise me. I quickly got to my feet and ran down stairs. If I could smell it in my room, I was sure my mother was in need of some assistance.

"Oops!" my mom said when I entered the kitchen. She was standing beside a completely burnt chicken and the room was filled with grey smoke. We both choked before rushing to the windows and throwing them open.

"Jesus, mom! Can't you bake?" I began fanning the chokingly nasty grew smoke out of the window with a towel.

"I'm learning," she said with wide eyes. Sometimes I felt more like the parental figure than she did.

--

Jacob was already seated beside my usual seat when I entered my English class.

"That was a pretty impressive bike yesterday," I said as I sat down next to him. "But maybe you should wear a helmet. I've heard it was a good idea if you wanted to protect your head." I gave him a teasing wink.

"I think I've heard that somewhere, also," he laughed. "And thanks for the compliment about my bike. I made it myself."

"It wasn't—wait, what? You made it? How do you make a bike?" I asked confused.

"Well, you buy parts and put them together. I'm actually in the middle of making a Volkswagen rabbit, but I'm a little low on money right now, so…"

I couldn't say anything. I just stared at him, my mouth slightly open in awe.

"What?" he asked nervously. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's just… I don't know. I mean, wow! You made your bike and you're in the middle of making a car. It's impressive… very impressive. I've never met anyone who can actually put vehicles together themselves. That's… kind of cool."

"Thanks. Well, I'm not actually making the rabbit. It's already somewhat put together, I just need to fix it up and buy a lot of new parts."

"But you made your bike."

"Yeah."

"Still, that's pretty impressive. It must be nice to know a lot about cars. I don't anything about them. My dad gave me this old 1950 Chevy pick-up, and it recently died on me. That car was a monster and way too loud, but it was mine. I don't have enough money to get it fixed so it's just sitting in my driveway." I sighed.

"Wait, the rusted red, Chevy pickup?"

"Yeah…"

"That used to be my car! My dad sold it to your dad a year ago. I didn't know he gave the car to you."

"He did, for school."

"So, it died on you, huh? I could come by some time and check it out if you'd like. I do know a thing or two about cars."

"Oh, no! You don't have to do that—"

"I want to. I like helping people." He smiled widely again.

There was something about Jacob's smile that made me feel all warm and toasty inside. His smile reminded me of the sun, and in this rainy cold town seeing that smile was comforting.

"Thank you." I couldn't help but smile back.

Class began and after a half an hour of lectures, we were dismissed into groups of two to work on a poem he passed out. Jacob offered to be my partner and I agreed. He was very entertaining and it was easy for us to get along. I noticed I was immediately very comfortable with his presence. I really liked Jacob.

"So, have you thought about the party in La Push?" he asked once we finished the assignment.

"Sort-of. I'm a litter nervous about asking my mother. She's not… very fond of me going out right now."

"Why is that?"

"I guess because the last two times I've gone out ended pretty badly… well, in her opinion."

"What did you do?"

I looked up into his clear eager dark brown eyes. Jacob made me feel so comfortable, the words just spilled from my mouth before I even thought about what I was saying.

"The last party I went to," I began, "I got too drunk and threw up all night. And two days ago, mind you I was supposed to be grounded, I snuck out of my house to hang out with Edward. I fell asleep at his house and didn't make it home until after noon the next day. She wasn't too thrilled about that."

"Edward is that guy I met? Your boyfriend, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, that wasn't very responsible of him. If he was gonna let you sneak out, he should have made sure you'd be home before your mom found out."

"It wasn't his problem," I argued back. "I wanted to leave and be with him. It wasn't his responsibility to wake me up and bring me home. And besides, he was very pissed that he too fell asleep."

"I didn't mean to make you mad, Bella. I was just stating my opinion."

"Well, you should watch how you say things about people you don't know." I turned away from him. I didn't know why I was acting so aggressive, but I couldn't control it.

Suddenly, Jacob burst out laughing. Turning my gaze to his face, I saw his eyes on me. He was laughing at me.

"What are you laughing at?" I asked. I tried to sound angry or annoyed, but I couldn't help the smile tugging at the corners of my lips. This just made him laugh harder.

"It's nothing," he gasped between chuckles. "You're just funny when you get angry."

"Shut up, Jake," I said smiling mainly to myself.

"Sure, sure."

Luckily, the bell rang at the moment. I swiftly packed my bag and headed for the door. I noticed Jacob was waiting for me just outside of the classroom. Once I passed him, he followed me, matching my pace.

"So, when should I come by?" he asked casually starting up a new conversation.

"For what?"

"To work on your truck."

"Oh, um… whenever. But are you sure want to do it? I don't have much money to pay you."

"Bella, you don't have to pay me! Well, actually, you can pay me by making an appearance at the party on Friday." He smiled mischievously.

"Fat chance. I told you, my mom's pretty pissed at me right now. She won't say yes."

"Well, what about if I talk to her? She knows me, and I'm sure she won't be able to resist my charm. Plus, I'm sure if I promise to have you home early, she'll say yes."

"If you promise to have me home early? I'm not going to be your date, Jake."

"We'll see about that," he chuckled smugly.

I was still a little stunned, so I didn't hear Edward approach. I jumped slightly when he placed a hand on the back of my neck.

"Edward! Sorry, I didn't see you there. Hi!"

He bent down and kissed me swiftly on the lips before turning an angry gaze back to Jacob. I blushed.

"Don't forget to talk to your mom. See ya." Jacob gave Edward a disapproving glance before turning towards the parking lot.

"What was that about?" Edward asked, his gaze still on Jacobs retreating form.

"He wants me to go to his friend's party down in La Push. But I told him my mom won't let me. He disagrees."

"How does Jacob know what your mom would say?" I didn't miss the way he snarled his name.

"He knows my mom… and Charlie. Jake—ob's, dad sold my truck to Charlie."

"Really," he said, his voice monotone.

"Yeah." Though I knew his response wasn't a question, but I answered anyway.

"Let's go, I have to get you home early today. We don't want to make your mother hate me even more and start keeping you away from me."

I smiled before reaching up on my toes to lace my arms around Edward's neck.

"Nothing could keep me away from you," I said seconds before I gave him a tender kiss.

so basically Jacob with be trying to win Bella's heart over.

More Jake and EDWARD, especially, on it's way.

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-PuppetStrings19