Not My Type

AllzStar

- Emma -

"Are you sure about this?" I asked as I twisted the keys in the ignition.

"Absolutely, one hundred-percent positive," Bella replied, grinning widely.

I sighed as the truck roared to life beneath us.

What was I going to tell Jacob now that Bella had insisted on joining us to Port Angeles? He would be even more annoyed when Edward joined us later.

So, okay, Bella's heart was in the right place. The point was for her to get Jake and Edward into the same room long enough for a decent conversation to take place. As much as I didn't want an audience, I was glad that Bella was doing this. Maybe if Edward and Jacob started getting along the four of us could hang out together. But I would never object to some alone time with Jacob.

Still, I needed to spend time with Bella, too. I couldn't sleep at her house and eat her food and then ditch her for some guy I met a week ago. The biggest part of my visit had been to see Bella, my best friend since late elementary school, who I'd missed all year while I was stuck in Phoenix.

As I pulled out of the drive way, enjoying the leather-tobacco smell of Bella's truck's cab, the rain spluttered to a halt. I gasped and smiled. A good omen. This wouldn't be so bad. Edward and Jake would get along and the four of us would have a blast on the best road trip ever.

The plan was this:

We would drive by La Push to pick up Jacob, and then drive all the way to Port Angeles. There we would "run in to" Edward (Bella said that if Jake saw him in the truck he wouldn't come at all) and then figure out what we wanted to do in Port Angeles for a day.

Not too complex, but brilliant. The only way this wouldn't work was if Bella tried lying to Jacob. Apparently, Bella was the world's worst liar. I didn't want to lie to him, but I decided it was for the greater good. Yeah. Right. Okay.

Jacob was waiting for us (well, me, really) when we pulled up to the curb of the road. I hopped out of the truck and went over to him.

"Hey, Emma!" he cried, grinning widely. "How're ya doin'?" He pulled me into a tight hug.

"Great!" I replied into his chest.

Jacob looked over my head, then. He saw Bella, who had come around to our side of the truck, and only smiled, no hint of disappointment on his face. "Heya, Bells," he said brightly.

"Hi," she replied, failing to fully return the smile.

"Well, let's go get Juno!" Jake declared. He took my hand and began towing me away.

"Juno?" Bella asked as she followed us.

Jake turned to address her. "Emma and I named the Rabbit Juno. You'll see why."

I had almost forgotten about out pet name for the vehicle. I hadn't known that Jacob took it seriously. I had called it Juno as a joke because the orange stripes reminded me of the movie.

The Rabbit was waiting to go. The paint had dried a shade darker that it had been before, but it still looked great. Jacob had actually painted the name Juno on the driver's side door. I smiled and squeezed his warm hand.

"You guys did this?" Bella asked incredulously, pointing at the car.

We nodded in unison.

"This is incredible," Bella said quietly, touching the big sun on the hood.

"You should have helped us, Bells," I offered. "It would've been more fun with you there. Not that it wasn't fun without you," I added. Then I looked at both of them. "No offense. Both of you. Okay, wow. Just forget I said anything."

"We know what you mean," Jake said, laughing. He pulled his hand out of mine and settled on wrapping his arms around me from behind.

Bella looked from me to Jacob and back, a slow grin pulling at the corners of her mouth. She turned away and inspected the car. "So are you guys like…a thing…now?" she asked softly.

"Uh…." I bit my lip, unsure of how to answer.

A bell-like medley saved me. Bella reached into her back pocket and took out her cell phone, which was ringing. "It's Edward," she said. "I gotta take this." She ducked out of the garage so quickly I would've missed it if I'd blinked.

"Constantly worrying if she's safe," Jake muttered under his breath.

I casually wiggled out of his hold and approached the car. "Juno looks amazing," I said, smiling when I said the name. "Even better than I remember her."

"She's missed you," Jake replied, standing on the other side of the car and looking at me over the roof. "She's not the only one."

I blushed and lowered my eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't call."

"That's okay," he said, smiling. "I'm not a freak. I wasn't like, staring at the phone or anything. I just missed having you around. I was gonna invite you for a spin on the motorbike, but I figured you were spending time with Bella, which is legit. I mean, I saw you on Tuesday; that's not too long ago, is it?"

I giggled and looked back at him. "Actually, I was just enduring school and doing loads of homework. I probably missed you more than you missed me," I added with a wink.

"I doubt that's possible."

I dropped my gaze again, flushed.

He cleared his throat after a moment of silence. "So, um…are we?"

"Are we what?"

"What Bella said…a…thing?" he asked timidly.

I looked up in surprise. I had never heard him sound unsure. I almost forgot what he'd asked. "I dunno. Are we?"

"We could be," he said, so quietly I could barely hear him. "If you want."

I blinked. Breathed a few times. Gathered my thoughts. Closed my mouth. Opened it. Closed it again. Stalling for time.

"Jake," I said, finally, after a very long pause. "You know that I would like…no, love to be that with you…but now is probably not the best time…for me. I mean, I just moved here, I only met you a week ago…everything's moving a bit too fast for me, and I just want to find myself here first. You know?"

"I totally get it," Jake said, brightening a little. "Don't worry about it. You take your time, and talk to me when you're ready."

"Thanks, Jake," I said, smiling weakly.

He came around and hugged me again, but it was a reassuring hug and he didn't crush me against him like he usually did. "Don't worry about a thing, Emma. I'm here for you, no matter what."

"Thanks, buddy." I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed once, then pulled away.

Bella came in then, flipping her phone shut. "Well? Shall we go?" she asked, gesturing to the car.

Jacob started, but then composed his face. "You're coming with us?"

"Well, yeah," Bella replied, grinning. "What else did you think I was here for?"

"Oh, well, Bells, actually, I—"

"I invited her," I said quickly, cutting him off. "She needed to pick up some stuff in Port Angeles, so I thought we might as well make one trip and save the environment…you know, carpool?"

Jake took a moment, and then nodded once. "Sounds good to me," he said, finally breaking into a truthful smile.

I sighed with relief and squeezed his hand. "Am I driving her today?"

"You most definitely are," he responded as he climbed in the passenger seat.

The drive was fun and peaceful. Bella sat in the middle of the backseat and leaned between the front seats to talk to us. I turned on the radio and we all laughed and chatted and had a good time. Well, Jake and I did. I wasn't sure if Bella was enjoying this as much as she'd been expecting. I tried to include her as much as I could, but sometimes it was easy to forget anyone else existed when I was talking to Jake.

We got to Port Angeles at one. It had started to rain again, but it didn't dampen the mood at all. I parked the car and we took out our rain jackets before heading for the nearest café, a cosy little place nestled between a fitness club and a convenience store.

This was where Edward was supposed to "run into us". We had realized that a café was not as convincing as just walking down the street, but no matter where we were, Bella and I knew that Jake would figure out our plan. The challenge was to keep the guys together and avoid a big scene where one of them stormed out.

Edward as in on the whole plan too. It made me a little defensive. I knew that Jake could be reasonable, too. I mean, if I were in his shoes, I would be pissed at the guy that stole away the love of my life, too. But I had secretly hoped—very, very secretly—that now that I was here he wouldn't mind seeing Bell and Edward together.

I was absolutely right. When Edward joined us Jacob barely batted an eyelash. He conversed with the couple across from us as if he had never been broken hearted, his arm slung around my shoulders. At least, he was cool until Bella put her left hand on the table.

Jacob and I both saw the ring at the same time. My eyes and my mouth opened wide as I took in the elaborate diamond set up on her ring finger. Jake had the opposite reaction. He shut his mouth tight and his eyes narrowed.

"What the hell is that?" I demanded, pointing to the rock. "Since when?"

"Since last June," Bella replied. "I just don't wear the ring very often, but the date is set now, so…." She trailed off timidly.

Jacob didn't say anything.

Edward looked from him to me and back again. "We would both be very appreciative if the two of you would be in the wedding party." He glanced at Jacob's face. "But it would be understandable if you'd rather not."

"I know I would love to," I said quickly. I looked at Jake. "Jake? What do you think?"

I grabbed his hand under the table, squeezed it, and then rested out interlocked hands on his thigh.

He took a deep breath, and then his face cleared completely, his frown turning upside down. "Sounds awesome. Thanks."

"Oh, Bella!" I squealed, jumping up. She stood too, and I gave her a big girl hug. "Congratulations! I am so happy for you guys!"

We pulled away and took our seats again, both grinning from ear to ear.

"I'll be right back," Jake said quietly. He excused himself and bolted from the café.

I frowned and looked at Bella. "I should go make sure he's alright…."

"He's fine," Bella said, waving him off. "He already knew."

"He did?"

"Yeah, he sort of found out the hard way days after Edward first proposed. He just hadn't seen the ring yet. I guess this was a reminder that we're actually going through with it." Her face suddenly contorted in pain and she put her head down on the table.

Edward rubbed her shoulders. "It's alright, love," he murmured soothingly.

"Maybe it's not okay," I snapped.

Edward looked up at me in surprise.

I glared at him. "Maybe he's really, really hurt."

"We know he is," Bella moaned. "But what are we supposed to do about it?"

"I know what you're not supposed to do," I snapped. "Show off your ring in front of him, ask him to be in the wedding party…let alone asking him to even come to the wedding!"

"Emma, he's my best friend," Bella begged, her eyes welling with tears.

"Treat him like it, then!" I shouted. I got up from the table and stormed out after Jacob.

He was no where in sight, so I wandered back to Juno. I felt silly for my childish outburst and the dramatic exit, so there was no way I could go back into the café. But both Jacob and I had left our jackets there. I leaned against Juno, hugging myself but still shivering as the rain pelted down. I didn't have the keys, either.

"Excuse me?" someone said.

I turned.

A woman was standing a few feet away from me. She was young, probably in her early twenties, with pitch black hair that was styled into a Gwen Stephanie-like look. Her lips were painted red. Both colours contrasted hauntingly with her pale white, chalky skin. Her complexion reminded me of the Cullens, but she was no where near as lovely as they were.

"Yes?" I asked, surprised.

"Could you help me? I bought something three times my weight and can't get it into my truck." She smiled, revealing straight, white teeth.

I tried to return the smile, but I was still too upset. "Yeah, sure."

She led me around the corner of the convenience store into a light alley. An enormous, glossy black truck was waiting there. There was a large cardboard box sitting by the back bumper. Big letters had been stamped on the side: FRAGILE.

"What is it?" I asked casually.

"Oh, just a little something for my boyfriend," she said. "His birthday is next week. I'm Rebecca, by the way."

"Emma," I said, offering her my hand. She made no move to take it, so I let it drop. I turned back to the box. "So do you want to take that end, and I'll take this one?"

Rebecca's eyes suddenly went very, very wide, and she pointed to something behind me. "Look out!"

I whirled, my hands out in front of me.

Something hard grabbed me from behind. Ice-cold rocks wrapped around my waist, pulling me down. I crashed into something that gave way under my weight; something shattered. There were little diamonds everywhere, and a lot of red. I struggled and thrashed, too scared to scream. What was holding me? Where had Rebecca gone? What was happening? Something brushed against the back of my neck.

Suddenly there was an animal-like growling from somewhere in the alley. The stones released me and I crumpled, curling into a ball and shivering, trying to breathe through the on-coming shock.

Then I saw Rebecca. It didn't seem like she was hurt, but she was crouched over me, almost protectively. Her lips had parted over her teeth, which were barred. A fowl snarling sounded from deep within her. She held her arms out, her fingers clenched like claws. I stared at her. She was like a primitive animal, protecting her injured young…or defending her earned prey.

I tried to roll away from her, but she jumped to my side again, her gaze never moving from whatever it was she was staring at. I squeezed my eyes shut.

Suddenly another sort of growling started, this one louder and much more frightening, like a big dog.

Rebecca hissed, her eyebrows arching dramatically over her liquid onyx eyes. And then she was gone.

I lay there, gasping for the breath I had been holding, warm rain water seeping into my clothes.

Someone bent over me. "Emma? Emma, sweetie, are you okay?"

"Did she get her?"

"No, thank God. Emma?"

"I'd better make sure Bella stays where she is."

"Did you know her?"

"No. I'll need to warn Carlisle. He needs to know that there are others in the area."

"I thought I smelled bloodsucker. But I thought it was just you." Another vicious snarl. "Dammit, Edward. If I find out that she was one of yours…."

"Of course not! You know my family, Jacob. Don't be ridiculous."

Jacob? I reached for him. My palm touched something smooth and warm. His skin? "Jacob?" I murmured.

"Yes, yes, baby, it's me. It's Jacob. I'm here. You're going to be okay, alright? Everything's going to be fine." Something warm touched my face, caressed it, and I sighed.

I finally opened my eyes.

There he was. My Jacob. His eyes were ridden with concern but it was still him.

"Can you hear me?" he asked.

"Yes. I can see you, too," I said quietly, reaching up to touch his face. I looked around. "Where did Edward go?"

"He went to get Bella. He…had to leave." Jake's eyes swept the area around me. "How do you feel?"

"Probably better than I look," I replied, trying to keep it light.

"I sure hope so. There's blood everywhere."

"What?"

"You fell into a box full of a crystal dinner set," he explained, reaching over to me and grabbing something. He held up a shard of crystal covered in bright red.

I winced. "Ooh." Suddenly I was in a lot of pain.

Blackness overtook me before I could react further.