Chapter 25: A Change of Scenery

When I woke up the next day, clouds over ran the sky and it was more gray than blue. I suppose it makes sense. April showers bring May flowers right? Jake was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring out the window. From the side, I could see his lips formed a straight line. Uh oh, did Drake come back? Did the guys say something?

He must've felt my eyes on him because he turned, giving me a big smile as he found my eyes open. "You're awake."

"I've been up all night like you; didn't you notice?" I grinned.

"You'll have to teach me how to stay awake with your eyes closed."

"It's a gift," I shrugged and chuckled, "Anything happen last night?"

Jake shook his head, "Which means he knew I was here. He knows you're protected."

"He's always known that, even when you weren't around."

"He's going to try to get you alone again though," he said as I scooted up closer to him.

"Never gonna happen," I said, "I'm always going to have you nearby."

"You're not scared at all, are you?" he asked, staring at me.

I shook my head, "You guys will protect me."

"You really trust us that much or is there something else?

"I really do trust you all, " I smiled then sighed, "But I guess the other is since I lost people close to me, I'm not really afraid of anything because nothing is as bad as that," I gave him a gentle nudge and leaned against shoulder, looking up at him, "Having you around doesn't hurt either."

Being so close, we could feel each other's breath. I was sure he'd pull back any second but his eyes never left mine. It made me think of the day before when we held hands. What the hell is going on? He's acting so, so…different. Are things changing? But they can't! I mean…he still loves Bella. His gaze dropped for a second and I swear it fell on my lips. I felt my heart start to race. He can't be thinking about kissing me…

"So," I said, his eyes snapping back up, "Does this mean I'm under house arrest or can we go to the beach? I won't go without you…I can't now that…well you know. And it doesn't look like it's going to rain just yet."

"It's still cold down there," he said, looking at my tank top.

"Well I do plan on putting a shirt on but even so I'm sure a certain wolf wouldn't mind keeping me warm, "I grinned, "He's my protector after all."

Jake beamed at me, his smile almost blinding me. "How about third beach instead?" he said, "It's kinda a hike but it's worth it, I promise."

"Sounds great."

After throwing on a shirt and lacing up my shoes, we headed out my house and walked towards the main road. The trail started out as a road but then became a dirt path amongst the trees. Although the sun hid behind the clouds, daylight still shone through the trees, reflecting off the leaves. "You know," I said, "I've never been a huge nature fan but since I've been here, it's hard not to be. Its places like this, the trees and the animals everywhere that make me realize I'm not alone and that people in general aren't. It feels…I don't know…cool."

Jake cocked an eyebrow at me as I sighed and said, "Oh shut up and let me have my moment."

He chuckled, "I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to."

"Actually," he said as he tossed a rock before looking back at me, "I was going to say I think it's pretty great that you've taken a liking to it. That's mainly what tourists come here for anyway before they leave again."

"I didn't really have a choice about the living here."

"That-That's not what I meant," he said, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you—"

"Don't," I said, grabbing his hand, "I didn't mean it like that either. I hate what happened but I'd be lying if I said I regretted it. It turned out to be the best thing for me," I sighed, giving us some distance, "I'm not who I was then anyway. I like the peacefulness."

"When it is you mean."

I snorted. "When I'm not being stalked by a vampire? Please," I said, walking and looking over at Jake, "That barely registers on my radar."

I didn't see the rock until I turned my head. Before I hit the ground, two arms straightened me out. "Thanks," I said, giggling, "I'm very smooth as you can see."

"You okay?" he asked, looking down at me.

"I'm fine," I said, looking up, "Guess it's too much to ask for some sun huh?"

"We're lucky if we get that here."

I sighed, "Well the sun's overrated anyway…well sometimes. Not like you need it with all your Quileute blood. I have that same blood and I look like Casper's cousin. I'm the palest Quileute ever."

Jake shook his head and chuckled, looking at me, "Does it matter?"

"Well it'd be nice to not get mistaken for a leech."

Pulling me out of the way of tree root, Jake held me close. We looked at each other for a minute as he said, "You could never be mistaken for that."

"Don't be so sure," I said.

We laughed again, walking in silence. Jake held my hand though I couldn't tell if it was due to my lack of coordination or to keep me warm. I smiled as we kept going, listening to the birds chirp and the rabbits scatter when they heard our footsteps. Once we got out to a lookout point, I gasped at the beauty of it all. A couple times I walked on some logs like a balance beam, glancing over at Jake. His brow was furrowed and he stared ahead but almost at something that wasn't there. What's bothering him? I mean we already talked about Bella…what else is there? I didn't say anything though, at least not until about 15 minutes later. "So, do I even bother asking if we're there yet?"

He didn't answer. I nudged him, "C'mon, I had to say it."

Jake looked at me, eyes unfocused for a second. "If you can stop daydreaming for a second," I smiled, "I'd like to know if we're close."

"Sorry," he chuckled as he looked ahead, "There's just a little bit left."

Jake didn't say anything else. The silence was killing me. What the hell is he thinking about that he's just like zoning out entirely? I guess I can't complain too much though because he hadn't let go of my hand. I like doing that, even if I felt pint sized next to him. Finally after the longest mile and a half stretch of my life, we came out from the trees onto the beach. My jaw dropped as I looked out at the view. Strawberry Bay lay before my eyes, waves crashing into the rocky shore and driftwood scattered everywhere. Off in the distance, I spotted the sea stacks and I grinned. I let go of Jake's hand and giddily ran down toward the edge of the shore. I stretched my arms out into the wind, twirling around and taking it all in. Some droplets began to fall and I felt the cold up my spine which disappeared when I felt heat engulf my hand again. I smiled and squeezed his hand. "I love watching the waves when no one else is around," I said, "Thank you for bringing me here. I think it's my new favorite beach."

Jake turned to look at me, grinning as he said, "That's not all this one has. C'mon."

Still hand in hand, I followed as he led me further down the beach. Even though we had a steady light rain falling now, I didn't care. We stopped by a couple of gigantic rocks where the waves crashed violently. Pulling me close then pointing with his other hand, Jake said, "Look over there. See the waterfall? It falls right into the ocean."

My eyes followed the path of his finger, resting on the constant stream of water cascading down from the front of the hard bluff. I squeezed his hand tight and grinned. I've never seen anything so beautiful. "Thank you," I said, looking at him then back at the water, "I love it here. And…," I paused then said, "You're gonna laugh as I say this but uh it's really kind of romantic here. I could totally see Sam bringing Emily here for a date," My eyes went back to him to see him staring out," So I'm corny, sue me."

Jake didn't move or respond and so I added, "Don't rush to deny my corniness…"

He turned his head abruptly, "Huh?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "I'm trying to be funny," I said, "You could at least give me a pity laugh."

Jake lips curled into a smile, "Sorry—guess I was gone for a sec there."

I stood in front of him, wiping my drenched hair from my face. "Is something wrong?" I asked, "That's the second time you've missed my attempt at humor. Are you okay or am I really not funny?"

He chuckled, "You're plenty funny."

"So then what is it?"

Our eyes met and stayed there for a second. "It really doesn't bother you that a leech is after you?"

I shook my head. "I told you, I know you guys can handle it."

"And…you're not worried anything will happen to me?"

"Like what?"

"Like I might…get hurt?"

I rolled my eyes, "You? You can take anything Jake. I've seen it."

Jake sighed but I couldn't tell the reasoning behind it. Relief maybe or what? Narrowing my eyes, I stepped closer to him. The rain started falling slightly harder as I looked at him, only an inch or two between us. "What's with the 20 questions?" I asked, "You can't tell me you're losing confidence in everything you can do."

Jake stared at me for a few seconds. I watched the rain slide off his russet skin and felt the warmth radiating off him into my hand still. "I've never had anyone have so much faith is us, the pack, before," he said, "I mean, Emily, Rachel and the rest do but they're imprintees. Even my Dad worries about me getting hurt but not you. Never you. You don't even give it a second thought."

"There's no need to," I shrugged.

"More than that," he said, staring into my eyes, "You're always here no matter what. I've had other people be there for me but you…you've always been there even when I've treated you the worst."

"That's what friends do," I said, looking away for a second.

Jake's brown eyes never left mine. I watched the droplets of rain fall from his hair and eyelashes as he said, "I've never had it like that. I've never had someone so willing to sacrifice everything for me. It's opened my eyes these last few days."

"What are you saying?" I asked, swallowing hard. My heart was beating furiously.

"I don't want you to leave," he said.

"Jake I told you," I said, "It won't be for awhile yet. But I have to do it. You can't do this. I'm not gonna sit around and wait. I need to move on, need to fall in love again—"

"No," he said, squeezing my hands, "You don't. That's what I'm trying to tell you. When you told me that you wanna leave the other night I just—I couldn't deal. I can't just let you go love someone else, not when…," he paused a sec then said, "I didn't see it and now I know why I can't let you…"

"Jake…"

Without another word, Jake bent his head down and pressed his lips to mine. Is this really happening? I closed my eyes and swear I saw lightning flashes behind my eyelids. He pulled me closer and the warmth of his skin scorched me. I held on tight to his arms, feeling like if I didn't he'd disappear. We pulled apart for a brief second to breathe, glancing at each other before we kissed again. This time I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling myself as close I could. His arms gripped my hips, anchoring me in place and keeping me close. I felt his tongue on my lips and opened my mouth, our tongues dancing together. I let my hands slide down over his chest, feeling the muscles with my fingertips. I heard him groan slightly and I grinned, running my hands up his back and then through his hair, pulling gently.

This moment was more than I ever hoped we would share. I tightened my grip around his neck, using all of my strength to keep him in place. Jacob, my best friend, the guy who stole my heart without me even realizing it at first was kissing me. In a corny way, it felt like it we were meant to be. At least that's how it felt to me. How could it not? I've been crazy about him for months and now…I never wanted it to end. After another couple moments, I whined in protest as he slowly started to pull away.

Leaning our foreheads against each other, I opened my eyes to see Jake smiling at me but his eyes still shut. I was waiting for him to open them to tell him 'I told you so' but I never got the chance. Just before his eyes opened, he said one word. The one word I never wanted to hear. The one word that made everything that we just did and all that I thought he felt a huge lie.

"Bella?"