The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.

Chapter Fourteen

"What's the matter, babe? You've been awfully quiet," Jake observed as he drove his Mustang along US 101, the heater keeping the car at a comfortable seventy-four degrees as the sun started to slowly creep down the sky, heading towards the horizon.

"Hmm, I haven't noticed," I mused, looking out my window just as a yellow Volkswagen beetle passed. This, of course, reminded me of the girl I had been thinking about for the past…I'm not even sure how long I had been thinking about her, and the way her lips felt when we kissed, how delicate she was…

"Really? Because we're almost there and you've barely said a word to me," he chuckled. "Something on your mind?"

I shook my head. "Not really," except for the fact that I've been thinking about the kiss I had with my best friend just an hour ago. "I guess I just didn't realize that Port Angeles was so far away."

Another chuckle escaped his lips as he turned off of the highway, his headlights automatically turning on as he drove under the cover of the trees that lined the road, his lips pursed before he reached over with his right hand and rested it on my knee. "Don't worry, Bella. I'm sure whatever you're thinking about will pass when you see the restaurant."

"Have you been there before?" I asked, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear.

He shook his head. "No, but it's a popular restaurant that a lot of the teenagers like to go to so I've heard it from them. We should be there in about five minutes, though," he said with a grin. "Hopefully we can get a booth."

"Yeah, hopefully," I said before I sighed, thinking about how I kind of cheated on him earlier. Yes, I didn't have sex with Alice, but I still kissed her even though I was dating Jake. It was still wrong, right?

But if it was wrong, why did it feel so right?

Shaking my head free of the slightly impure thoughts about my best friend, I gave Jake a pleasing smile as I rested my hand against his, stroking the back of his knuckles while he drove silently through the streets of Port Angeles.

Three minutes passed and he pulled into a parking lot with a few cars surrounding the building, a family walking out with their Styrofoam boxes as the son tugged on the sleeve of his father's coat, trying to get his attention. Noticing the family, a small smile grew on my lips before I felt Jake's hand flip over and squeeze my own.

"That could be us someday," he said as he pulled into the parking spot next to them, being careful as to not hit the boy as he climbed into the backseat of the Range Rover.

"I'm not a big fan of kids, to be honest," I said as I watched the kid wave to me and, to not seem rude, I waved back. "I've never thought about having one myself."

"Is that why you're always adamant I wear a condom?" he joked as he turned off the Mustang.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't know about you, but I don't plan on getting pregnant in high school. I'm not going to end up like Amy Juergens, sorry."

Jake snorted. "You watch The Secret Life of the American Teenager? That show has gone downhill fast. Every time you turn around, someone else is pregnant."

Crossing my arms, I raised an eyebrow at him. "And how'd you know that's what I was referring to?"

His lips twitched before he opened the door to his Mustang. "Nothing," he muttered as he got out, closing the door behind him before he made his way around the front of the car, opening my door with his hand held out for me.

Taking his hand, I got out of his car and followed him inside the restaurant, surprised by the interior. There were several booths lining two of the walls and some intimate seating separate from them. The host saw us and nodded, waving us forward.

"Table for two?" he asked as he grabbed two menus, glancing at Jake with a small smirk. What was that about?

Jake nodded. "Yes, please."

The host nodded in return before he turned on his heel. "Right this way, please," he said before he led us towards a small table, a chair on opposite sides, that sat really close to the bathroom. For some reason I found that disgusting, but I kept my mouth shut seeing as we could've been right next to the doors; at least we were just around the corner from it.

Once we took our seats, Jake took the one that was closest to the bathrooms, the host handed us our menus and smiled. "Your waiter will be here shortly to take your orders," he said before he left, looking back over his shoulder as he headed towards his podium.

Well, that wasn't weird. "What do you think you're going to have?" I asked him as I opened my menu, looking at the selections. Half of them I couldn't even pronounce so I decided to go with the classic spaghetti and meatballs.

Jake pursed his lips as he looked at the menu, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration before he nodded. "The chicken alfredo. That sounds good."

Closing my menu, I looked around the restaurant, curious as to the décor. It wasn't a five star restaurant, no, but it wasn't something like McDonalds, either. It was clean and dimly-lit, perfect for romantic rendezvous and intimate outings; several couples were enjoying their meals as they gazed lovingly into each other's eyes.

Running a hand through my hair, I quickly turned back to Jake with a smile. "This is nice."

He nodded. "Yeah, better than the two restaurants we have in Forks, anyway."

I shrugged. "They aren't that bad."

"Well, they aren't good places for dates," he said with a smile before he reached across the table and grabbed my hands, his thumb brushing against the back of them. "I'm really glad you agreed to go on this date with me, Bella. I feel like you've been…kind of distant from me lately and I thought it was because you were going to dump me."

"Me, dump you?" I asked incredulously chuckling as I noticed a waiter coming in our direction. "That's impossible," I whispered just as the waiter walked up, holding a small note pad as he glanced in our direction.

"My name is Joshua and I'll be your server today. How about we start you off with some drinks first?" he asked as he looked at us expectantly, waiting for us to give him our drink order.

"I'll just take a coke," Jake said before he shrugged, "and we're ready to order, too."

Joshua nodded before he turned to me. "And for you?"

"Dr. Pepper," I said with a smile.

"And you said you were ready for your orders? Alright, what will you like?" he asked, turning to Jake.

"I'll have the chicken alfredo and Bella will have…" Jake trailed off before he furrowed his brow in confusion. "What are you going to have?"

"Just the spaghetti and meatballs, please," I said as I handed my menu to the waiter.

Joshua took mine and then grabbed Jake's before he nodded. "Alright. I'll take your order to the kitchen and I'll be back with your bread sticks and drinks."

With that, he left and Jake raised an eyebrow. "What were you saying about it being impossible for you to dump me?"

"I mean, look at you, Jake," I said, nodding my head in his direction. "You're fit, handsome, you have money, you're a good guy and…you can be really romantic. I can't compare to that. I should be the one afraid that you'll dump me." Of course, concerning recent evidence, it could be quite possible that I'll be the one to dump him.

It just depended on how tonight ends up.

Jake chuckled, shaking his head. "Bella, you don't have to worry, I won't—"

The sound of his voice seemed to drift off as I noticed two familiar guys walk into the restaurant, their eyes glancing around the room before they landed on Jake. One of them I didn't know the name of, but he quickly walked past the podium and headed towards the men's restroom as James followed, a smirk on his lips when he caught me looking.

Jake turned around in his seat, curious as to why I was looking over his shoulder, before he turned back to me just as James headed into the bathroom.

"I've got to go to the bathroom," Jake said as he stood up. "I'll be back."

Furrowing my brow, I watched as Jake slipped around the corner and, after biting my lip, I quickly stood up. Why were these guys here? It wasn't like we were at a party or anything, and why did Jake go with them? It didn't make any sense.

Walking around the corner, I stood near the men's restroom door with my lips pursed, trying to hear anything that would alert me that something wasn't right. Alice could be right; Jake could be doing drugs and these were his dealers. If that was the case, I'd need to know the truth if I was going to help him.

All I could hear was murmurs, nothing significant that I could add to my suspicions, so I sighed.

"…the weed costs…" someone, it sounded like James, said in a hushed tone and my eyes widened.

Jake did drugs. And James was his dealer. Taking a deep breath I headed back to my table, hoping that our waiter didn't think we were dining and dashing (even if we hadn't dined yet) and nodded at him when he placed our drinks and bread sticks on the table.

"Your food should be done in about fifteen minutes," Joshua said with a smile before he left.

Grabbing my cup, and inserting the straw into the liquid, I took a quick drink just as Jake walked around the corner, wiping his hands against his pants.

"Sorry, I just really had to go," he said with an apologetic smile as he sat down, James and his friend heading towards the entrance of the restaurant.

"Mmm," I mused as I took another drink, trying to gather my thoughts.

How could he be so calm? He bought drugs in a fucking restaurant! Shouldn't he be worried that there was a camera in there? Or that someone could've overheard the exchange; someone like a cop?

Shaking my head, I grabbed a bread stick and broke it in half. "Jake," I started as I looked at him, his brown eyes swirling with curiosity as he leaned forward to listen to what about I was about to say. "If I asked you something, would you be honest with me?"

Jake chuckled before he grabbed his straw and got it free from his wrapper, sticking it into his drink before he answered. "Of course I would, babe. Why would you think I wouldn't?"

"Okay, now, don't take this the wrong way but do you…do you use drugs?" I asked as I averted my gaze, looking at the two pieces of bread stick in my hand.

God, what if I was wrong? What if I just thought I heard James because I was looking for a way out so I could be with Alice? What if Jake was just innocent?

Thankfully, Jake took my question lightly, laughing as he took a quick drink from his coke before he raised an eyebrow. "God, no. I'd never touch the stuff. Why did you ask? Someone spreading rumors about me doing drugs?"

I shook my head. "Forget it; it's stupid. I thought I overheard James saying something about weed and I figured that—"

"Wait," Jake said, his lip twitching, "you overheard James? What, were you like spying or something?"

"I was merely curious because—"

"Why on earth were you spying on me?" he asked, gnashing his teeth together before he shook his head. "No, you know what? I thought you trusted me. Why would you even do that?"

"Jake, it wasn't like that I was just—"

"I thought you loved me. Jesus, Bella, why would you even think I was on drugs and why did you feel the need to think that I was buying some in the middle of a restaurant?"

Several people turned to look in our direction after Jake's little outburst, some people pursing their lips in disapproval before they returned to their food, and I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair.

"Look, Jake, it's…nothing, really. I mean, yeah, I might've thought you were doing drugs but that's because you act…angry sometimes and then you leave for the bathroom and you're better."

"Because I drop a deuce," he said, rolling his eyes, "not because I was doing drugs."

"Then why did I hear James mention weed? If you're not doing drugs, what's going on?" I asked, crossing my arms as I raised an eyebrow.

He sighed, shaking his head as he stood up. "I never wanted to tell you this but…I guess I'll have to bring it into the open now that you…well…found stuff out. Give me a minute; I need to tell Joshua that we're not going to stay."

"Wait, what?" I asked, but it was too late. Jake was already on his way as he headed towards our waiter, who was taking a couple of men's orders, before he walked back towards me, nodding.

"We can go now," he said as he headed up to the register, pulling out his wallet.

Sighing, I stood up and followed him, standing behind him as he paid for our meal that we didn't even eat, before we walked outside and into his Mustang.

The only sound that could be heard as Jake headed towards the highway was the soft roar of his engine as he coasted through the streets, and, when he turned onto the highway, he let out another sigh.

"You have to believe me when I say I don't do drugs," he said, glancing in my direction before he shook his head. "I'm smarter than that, I don't do drugs."

"Then what was—"

"Let me finish," he said, holding out his hand before he took a deep breath, running his russet colored fingers through his short black hair. "When I was thirteen, my dad's diabetes took a turn for the worst. He used a lot of our money to go to the doctors and all, but…nothing helped. He became confined to a wheel chair. Money was tight afterwards; he had to quit his job and the disability checks only got us so far, you know?" He shook his head with a sigh. "I just…I wanted to do anything to help out. I knew my father was struggling with the bills but he didn't say anything. Sam…noticed."

"What did he do?" I asked. "Did he offer you drugs?"

Jake snorted. "No. He offered me help. I know it's wrong but…it helps, it really does."

I raised an eyebrow. "How did he offer you help?" Was Jake trying to tell me what I think he was?

"I don't want to say it, because I don't think of myself as one, but…I'm going to stop once I've got a scholarship. I just need money to help me for college, because I really want to go."

"Why haven't you stopped yet? You've got a garage now, Jake, you could easily work for it. A legal way."

"We can't talk about this anymore," Jake grumbled under his breath.

Well, now I knew what I had to do about Jake. Grabbing the phone out of my pocket, I quickly touched Alice's name, the first one in my phone book, and hit send message.

There is something about Jake. Pretty sure I'm going to break up with him soon.

Looking out of my window, I slid my phone in-between my legs as I waited for her to reply, growing fed-up of the silence.

"Jake, why didn't you just tell me you…well…"

"Sell drugs?" he asked. "You can say it, Bella. It's not like I don't know that's what I do."

"You do know you're dating the daughter of a cop, right? Weren't you ever worried that I would, I don't know, turn you into him?" I asked incredulously.

Jake chuckled and opened his mouth to speak before he closed it with an audible snap. "I told you before, Bella. I'm only doing this so I can save money for college."

"Right," I said, rolling my eyes, "whatever."

My phone vibrated then, signaling that I had a text from Alice and, when I looked at the phone, I had to keep myself from laughing.

I know best friends are supposed to say something like "I'm sorry" right about now but, honestly, I'm really happy. :) Though that makes me wonder…what…about us?"

Alice, I started to type, pausing as I noticed Jake's knuckles going white as his grip tightened against the steering wheel, his jaw tight as he glared at the road. Whoa. What's going on with him? I'm not sure, but I promise you that when I am sure, I'll make sure I let you know.

Tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear, I looked out the window and, for the rest of the ride back to Forks, I tried to think of how I would break up with Jake; what words I would say, to make sure I hurt his feelings as little as possible.

I just hoped I wouldn't regret it.

A/N: Yeah, I know. A sixteen year old drug dealer isn't realistic, but this is fiction, so who cares! :P

Next chapter? The breakup. Sadness.