Bella's POV
Previously:
My own hands slid up into his somewhat shaggy hair and I let my fingernails glide across his scalp. I wanted the kiss to last forever but, alas, air became essential. We both pulled back at the same time and smiled goofy smiles – it was like we were perfectly in sync.
"Wow," we both breathed out at the same time. He let me slide down to the ground. I almost fell over because of my weak knees but he caught me before I could.
Jacob's POV
"Wow," we both breathed out at the same time. I let her slide down to the ground and she almost fell over due to weak knees but I caught her but I caught her before she could.
I smiled down at her for a moment until my nostrils flared of their own accord and Bella tensed up in front of me. That only happened when a leech was nearby. I sniffed the air once and the burning – yet familiar – scent caused me to growl on instinct. I could tell who it was just by the recognizable smell. I darted my eyes around the area behind Bella – searching for him. Isn't Paul supposed to be on Patrol around here right now? Someone's running extra patrols tonight.
Bella looked up at me worriedly and I grabbed her arm. "Jake, what's wrong?" she asked.
"We have to go, now," I told her. She stared into my eyes a few moments more and nodded her head. I don't know if it was my tone that told her not to ask now or she saw it in my eyes. Either way, I wasn't going to let the leech anywhere near her any time soon. My hands began to shake the angrier I got.
What is he doing? Spying on Bella? He's even creepier than I thought he was in the first place. How did Bella put up with him? I suddenly remembered he could probably read my thoughts and I filled them with insults directed at him.
I had to control myself first so I took a deep breath - through my mouth - and made myself to relax, but not let my guard down.
Bella's POV
A familiar and disgusting scent drifted into my nose. It wasn't as strong as my room had been but it seemed fresh. I tensed in front of Jacob and his nostrils flared, his eyes darting around behind me. He growled and I started to get worried.
"Jake, what's wrong?" I asked. His hands and arms were shaking as the scent became stronger. I've never seen him act like this before except for a small minute in the field. It mostly only happened when he was mad or on instinct; when vampires were around.
He said it was a wolf thing; they react to the sickly sweet smell all vampires give off, it's repulsive to them. Though, to us humans they smell luxuriously good – like Edward and his family always smelled to me.
The sickly sweet smell they described seemed strangely familiar to the one I smelled now. It's ironic, really, because I'm not a werewolf. That would be absurd.
"We have to go, now," his tone told me to ask later and his eyes told me not to argue with him now. I nodded my head. He took a deep breath through his mouth and he seemed to visibly relax but his eyes stayed on full alert.
I hopped onto the motorcycle, starting it with a loud purr. Jacob did the same and we raced out of my drive way. The awful smell dulled the farther we got down the road and the more the wind nipped at my hair.
My mood turned from panic to pure elation the longer we road. I was trailing Jacob for a while before we slowed down a little when we reached the treaty line. I took in my surroundings, watching the trees go by in a blur, and then adjusting them to make them seem to go by slower.
After a while I started seeing a few housed after passing the beach. I was surprised out of my euphoria by noticing Jacob turn in a driveway. Following him, I turned too and parked beside him. Hopping off and looking up, not knowing where we were.
"Where are we?" I asked. The house was small-looking on the outside, maybe about two bedrooms, one bath, a small kitchen and living room. Jacob was about to answer when Quil came running from the garage in only his cutoff shorts.
"WELCOME TO CASA DE QUIL!" he said dramatically, arms spread wide on both sides of his body as if about to take flight if he was a bird, and standing in front of his house. I just rolled my eyes and walked into his house without permission. Embry was lying on the couch with his mouth open, snoring. I could see drool starting to leak down his cheek.
It was a funny sight to see but I wanted to have some fun. When Jake and Quil finally walked in to see me standing in front of Embry, I signaled them to stay quiet by putting a finger over my mouth. I turned around as if I was about to sit down and threw almost all my weight onto Embry's stomach – not hard enough to hurt him, but enough to knock the air out of him.
I heard Quil and Jake snickering over by the door. Embry surprised me by grabbing my arms and quickly pinning me to the couch underneath him, growling in my face. His eyes had shot open and he was gasping to breath – like a fish out of water.
I could see Jacob moving to get Embry off me when I started laughing. The drowsy look on his face along with his only half alert eyes, the drool still on his cheek, and the way his chest was heaving to get air in made him look quite stupid.
My laughter seemed to wake him up more and his grip loosened on my arms. I know I should be severely terrified and afraid but none of those emotions came up. The wolves have never scared me, not even Paul. I pushed on his bare chest as a sign to get up and he obeyed.
Obviously Jake was expecting me to curl up in a ball in the corner and start rocking my knees. I decided to clear the tension in the air by making fun of Embry.
"That was too funny. You should have seen your face!" I said, starting to laugh all over again. This time neither Quil nor Jacob laughed with me. Whatever, I don't care.
"That wasn't funny," Embry said.
Embry was glaring at me and Quil got a mischievous grin on his face.
"That's why Bella likes me more," Quil said.
That sparked Embry's mood. "No she doesn't. She likes me more," he said. I just looked at each of their faces – both were looking at me for an answer.
I didn't even have to think about it to know. "No, I like Jacob the most," I said. I winked at Jake and then spoke again. "You two are like twins. How am I supposed to decide who I like better?" they just shrugged and I sat down and turned the TV on with the remote from the coffee table. I found my favorite show since I was a kid and watched it for a few moments, trying to figure out which episode it was.
In the midst of entering the house, I forgot what I was going to ask. Now, I remember that I wanted to know why Jacob brought me here. "So, why am I here?" I asked blankly, not turning my attention from the episode of SpongeBob that was on.
It was that old episode when SpongeBob and Patrick got on Sandy's rocket and they came back and caught everybody in those little net things. Yeah, you know what I mean.
"You're here because you are definitely not going to school today. I have patrol and I also have to talk to Sam and Paul. I'm letting Embry and Quil babysit you until all that is done," Jacob said.
"Oh yeah, what was all that about back at my house?" I asked. Quil and Embry looked at him confused. "I'll tell you later," he said, addressing everyone in the room.
Jake looked up at the clock on the wall and sighed. "Well, I'll see you guys later," he said. Glancing between us once, his eyes lingered on mine. I could tell he was reluctant to go. I wanted to reassure him I would be fine and did the first thing that popped into my mind.
I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, letting my fingers grasp some of his hair lightly. He looked at me confusedly before resting his hands on my hips. I have no clue where I always get the urge to kiss him, no matter what happened or who was around, but I always have it.
I wiped the confusion clear out of his eyes when I leaned in and kissed him on his lips. Embry and Quil were hooting in the background. When I pulled back he smiled brightly at me. Pecking his lips one more time I smiled back. "Go," I whispered. He still hesitated and I growled at him playfully. "Go," I said again – more forcefully this time. "I'll be fine. I have my little bothers to take care of me. I'll probably end up taking care of them anyway."
I pushed him out the door and watched him jog into the woods. I shut the door and turned around to see Quil and Embry both leaning on the kitchen counter, one hand on their chin and the other on the counter. They looked like they were about to interrogate me or something. I just looked at them like they were crazy and went over to the fridge - where they turned and faced me, watching my every movement.
I spotted a ripe red apple in the fridge and washed it off. Do all the boys have apples in their refrigerator? I thought.
After I washed off the apple, Quil and Embry turned back to the counter. There was a stool on the other side and I sat there, wanting to know why they were acting so strange. I took a bite of my apple and they said in unison: "So, Bella."
It was pretty freaky hearing them speak at the same time – like the twins I always thought they should be. I swallowed what was in my mouth before they continued. "So, what was all that about?" Embry asked, a smirk playing on his face.
I decided to play the innocent card and act like I didn't know what they were talking about. "What was what about?" I asked, taking another bite of my apple.
"Bella did you or did you not kiss Jacob Black approximately four minutes ago while in the house of Quil Altera?" Quil asked. What is this? Good Cop, Bad Cop?
"What's it to you?" I counter asked.
"Nothing," they both said again at the same time. I just looked at them one last time before getting up and eating my apple in front of the TV.
When I was done, SpongeBob went off and The Fairly Odd Parents were on. I was going to ask Quil and Embry did they want to go to the beach when I noticed the house was eerie quiet. Must be outside, I thought. I glanced up at the clock before going out and it read 1:35.
I went outside and saw Quil and Embry sitting on the ground about three yards away from each other, throwing a football back and forth. If you asked me, they looked pretty bored.
I caught the football that was meant to be caught by Embry and tucked it into my side. "How far is the beach from here?" I asked.
"Not far," they both said. I think I've had enough twin stuff for the day. I rolled my eyes. "Well can we walk? I'm bored and you're supposed to be taking care of me."
"Sure. Let's go sis," Embry said. Finally, they stopped.
Since we had to pass Seth's house, we picked him up. Leah declined when we invited her to go since she had patrol with Jared in a while. So it's just me and three goof balls, great. I got Quil to give me a piggy back ride the rest of the way there after the Clearwater's house. I know he's a werewolf, but it still amazed me that he could carry me so effortlessly. I don't think he even broke a sweat.
When we reached first beach, there was a familiar looking van parked. Of course they were here, the weather is great today. At least they were all the way on the other side.
Seth and Embry were talking, but I didn't realize what they were talking about until Quil nodded his head at Seth. "You're joking?" Seth asked, though it was more of a statement. "Nope, Bella kissed Jake. Didn't you Bella?" Embry asked.
"Shut up," I mumbled, looking away and blushing. I jumped off Quil's back, dropped the football I took with us, and walked ahead of the boys – slightly annoyed with them. I took my shoes off and let my feet walk across the warm sand for a while.
"Bella kissed Jake!" Seth yelled. I snapped my head around to see his teasing grin plastered on his face. I glared at him and glanced back in the direction of the van. I could see Tyler, Jessica, Angela, Mike, Ben, and Eric looking in our direction. "Damn it, Seth," I said.
His grin got even bigger and he nudged Embry with his elbow. He whispered something under his breath that I couldn't quite make out but it caused Embry to laugh and Quil's eyes to light up. "Good one," Embry said. I just rolled my eyes and thought, boys will be boys.
Who cares if I kissed Jake? They're probably just jealous.
I wonder if Jake is thinking about kissing me right now. Oh snap! I forgot, the whole pack will know. Oh gosh, Paul will be the worst…
I was brought out of my thoughts by three loud voices. "BELLA KISSED JAKE," Embry yelled. I glanced over by the van again to see them staring in our direction again. "Guys stop, seriously." I laughed. I knew they were just teasing so I couldn't really get mad at them.
"BELLA KISSED JAKE!" he yelled again.
"SHUT UP SETH!" I yelled back at him while walking down the beach, not caring who heard. After a moment, Seth really did be quiet – only to be replaced with Quil. "BELLA KISSED JAKE!" he yelled. I just grabbed my IPod out of my jacket pocket and turned my favorite song all the way up.
I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking and I could faintly hear all three boys yelling in the background of my music. I was about to change the song when a hand came down and snatched my earphones out of my ear, taking my IPod as well.
"Hey, give that back!" Embry held my IPod in his hand that was high up in the air. He wasn't the tallest werewolf, but tall enough so that I couldn't reach it, even when I was standing on my toes. I eventually gave up in realization that we could stand here all day and I still wouldn't get it.
"Fine… but I'm telling Jake," I said. Embry just shrugged. I turned back around to the direction I was headed after telling Embry to hold my jacket for me. I was actually starting to get hot in it. I looked towards the water while walking and my toe it something hard.
I hissed and the stinging that I felt after it told me that I would have a bruise later. Looking down, I realized I had hit a cooler.
Still looking down, and rubbing my toe, I saw feet in flip flops approaching. The perfectly manicured toes told me that Lauren Mallory had so generously graced me with her presence. I made sure to put on a noticeably fake smile before looking up. "Hi Lauren, it's nice to see you here," I said, letting my voice take a too-sweet tone.
She smiled a smile that mimicked mine before speaking. "Sad that I couldn't say the same," she said, her voice taking the same tone as mine. I kept the smile even though she basically just insulted me. "So, who's that?" she asked, pointing at Seth.
Seth had obviously just come out of the water because he was soaking wet and his shirt was lying on the ground next to my jacket. Embry and Quil were just laughing their heads off, only their ankles and feet wet.
"My little brother," I told her, turning back to her and letting my eyes linger conspicuously on the fading bruise on her cheek before meeting her eyes. "So you skipped school to hang out with your 'little brothers'?" she asked.
I was about to tell her that Seth was just a kid when Jessica skipped up beside Lauren with Angela trailing close behind. Jessica was looking at Seth like he was a piece of meat and Angela was glaring at me.
"Hey Angela," I greeted her first; she just rolled her eyes and walked back over to Ben. "Jessica," I said when Quil, Seth, and Embry came up behind me.
"You know Quil and Embry. This is Seth." Seth waved, not really paying attention to the looks Lauren and Jessica were giving him.
"Lauren and Jessica, right?" Quil and Embry asked at the same time. I thought this twin stuff was over?
Just so you guys know; I have a plan for this story. I'm not going to just going to have Bella phase, have Jacob imprint, and end it just like that. I want this story to last longer than that. I want you guys to see the relationship she has with the pack and make that clear before she phases.
Sorry, to everyone who is anxiously waiting for that 'push' I'm going to give Bella, you have to admit that she does have a relatively calm personality most of the time. Either she is scared, happy, or sad. Anger doesn't rush through her like a bull with horns, not even in Eclipse when Jacob kissed her she didn't stay mad.
If you don't know what I'm trying to hint at then I'll just come right out and say it…
I'm delaying the phase so that you guys have a clear understanding of how she gets along with everyone. I realize that I haven't showed Charlie at all, neither Billy. Emily has barely said anything throughout the whole story and neither has Sam. Paul and Leah have only been mentioned a few times and it feels like I'm making Jared an outcast.
I don't want this story to revolve around Jacob, Bella, Quil, Seth, and Embry. I've basically lost my whole goal on this story. In the books, you heard almost everything about the Cullens - mostly Edward and Alice. Now, it's time to hear about the pack.
Thank you to armygirl918 for her review that actually made me realize that I shouldn't have her phase so soon – even if she didn't mean to.
Don't hate me for this decision; I change my mind a lot. Who knows? This idea might not work out at all for me. Don't stop reading because the next few chapters will be really good. You dont want to miss. *Smooches*
Read & review. Tell me what you think. Don't be afraid to criticize.