Hello! For my readers who like shifters, here is a story for you. This idea popped in my head a few weeks ago. What if Bella and Jake actually kissed during that brief moment before the phone rang in New Moon while Charlie was at Harry's funeral?

So, I decided to play with the idea of Bella having feelings for Jake but only coming to the realization of it when the phone rang.

There will be interaction from the Cullens at some point.

I hope you like it!

Stay safe.

Enjoy!

Kiss Protocol

CHAPTER 1: BRAVE.

"True love was forever lost. The prince was never coming back to kiss me awake from my enchanted sleep. I was not a princess, after all. So what was the fairy-tale protocol for other kisses? The mundane kind that didn't break any spells?"

Five seconds later, the phone rang, and despite thinking that she was maybe betraying herself, she didn't want to move, and honestly, she didn't want him to move either. He moved to answer the phone, and at that moment she reacted, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down. He moved out of surprise, caging her between his body and the table. She kissed him for the first time, and it felt right. Easy. When they broke the kiss, he looked at her and smiled tentatively.

"Please, don't go." She begged. She couldn't take it. She loved Alice, but she deserved to be happy. Edward had made his choices, Alice made hers. Everyone was entitled to make choices but her? Screw that. She didn't care if her choices didn't appeal to everyone. She was thinking of herself for the first time in a long time. No longer holding onto him.

There was no spell to break. It had been broken a long time ago, but she hadn't realized that until the phone rang.

"Bella. I can't handle being with you if you're going to take them back." It would break his heart, his very soul.

She shook her head. "Stay." She begged again. Her forehead pressed against his.

"Are you sure?" He asked, not wanting to get his hopes up.

She smiled at him. Her safe harbor. "Absolutely."

He smiled widely and leaned down to capture her lips with his. She chose him. She had Edward at the reach of a phone call with the pixie, and she chose him instead. It made him feel ecstatic. They broke apart to breath and his smile was so huge, his eyes were so happy that she couldn't help but giggle. She liked that image, a happy Jake. A happy wolf Jake. He had always been a happy guy, although tempered with the phase. Still, he saw positivity in things. She wanted to learn how to love that Jacob romantically. She already had feelings for him. There was no point in denying them any longer. He hugged her tightly and she rested her head on his shoulders.

Jacob had been the only one who had managed to make her laugh when her insides were torn apart. She denied that part of herself, hurting him in the process. She didn't care too much at the moment what had made her come out of her spell, but seeing Jacob smile like that at her, because of her, was worth any revelations. She wanted to see that smile again, principally because it made her happy, he made her happy. He followed every stupid thing she wanted to do, but was there to catch her if she fell. In retrospect, it was hilarious how he followed her with the bikes. That was the Jacob that had gotten her out of her shell. The wolf made him angry and that anger urged her to fight. He was exactly what she needed.

Of course, Alice chose that moment to come back. Jacob broke the embrace, positioning himself slightly in front of Bella. Alice rolled her eyes but didn't comment. Bella, on the other hand, grabbed Jacob's arm to keep him from doing anything stupid.

"You disappeared completely from my visions." She complained sadly.

"So, you had to come to see If I had killed her?" Jacob spat. It was Bella's turn to roll her eyes. That was a very stupid question.

Alice ignored him again. "What did you decide?" She asked Bella. Sort of demanded, more like it.

This time, Bella stood straight, proud, and moved to stand beside Jacob. She grabbed his hand and said, "I choose to have a chance at being happy." Alice's eyes could have fallen from her face if she opened them wider.

"Bella...Edward loves you. He only left to protect you." A week ago, hell,s possibly a day ago, that confession would have brought her to her knees in pain, in tears, and maybe in happiness. But that day, she felt numb.

She could feel Jacob tensing as if the new revelations would make her change her mind. "He made his choice. He decided to leave. He didn't consult me in this business of 'my safety'. I made mine. Could you be happy about it? I am tired of always wanting to please everyone. I loved Edward, with all of my being, but that wasn't enough for him." Tears were now running down Bella's face. "I am done. I made my choice. You can rely on the message or not. I don't care anymore. Just leave. Please." She let go of Jacob and ran up the stairs. Hot tears coming down her face. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried. She didn't remember crying after Edward left. However, if she remembered correctly, those weeks after Jake phased, when he had to step away from her, she had cried. Did Jacob's leaving hurt more than Edward's? She wasn't sure. They were different circumstances. At the very least they hurt the same.

She threw herself in the bed, face-down. She buried her face on one of her pillows, letting it all go, the rage, the disappointment, the pain, the relief, the love. All she had bottled up inside came rushing like a Tsunami, all because of Alice. She hadn't the right to come barge into her life and change everything. Despite how much she had wanted a few hours ago to go with Alice, to do everything to get them all back. She realized, the moment the phone interrupted her moment with Jacob, that was not exactly what she wanted. She wanted him. His sunny disposition, his warmth, his smile. And how easily he offered her his friendship and that of his closest friends without any hidden agenda. She liked going to the rez, she liked Emily and Sam, and even Paul, even though he infuriated her.

She thought about what had transpired in the kitchen. She had panicked at first, thinking she hadn't made a decision. But it had felt so good to take the lead at that moment. To not lose a moment. He had kissed her back, but what did that mean? By the lack of presence of a wolf in her bedroom, she assumed Jake had wanted to give her some privacy to get it all out. However, she didn't sleep well that night. Staring at the ceiling wondering and pondering why this time it felt different to the last time they were close to kissing. She decided to talk to Jake the next day.

Jacob on the other hand was ecstatic, happy. He knew it wasn't going to be easy. She had a lot of emotions to get sorted, but he was there for her. Of course, he was afraid of imprinting and this not working out. But he also had this strong belief that he had found his forever mate. There was no way he could imprint on anyone else. His feelings were already very deep. He phased and encountered Sam and Embry patrolling. He couldn't help thinking about what had happened in the kitchen.

"Go Jake!" Embry cheered. He had known from the beginning how deep his feelings for Bella were.

"This is dangerous, Jake. You could imprint on someone, and she would be devastated all over again. You shouldn't have done that." He understood Sam's position, he was living it himself with Leah and Emily.

"I just feel it, Sam. It's not as your imprint, but it is as strong. I love her."

"Be careful." was all he said before phasing back.

Embry was always quiet but fun. He didn't say anything, he simply accompanied his brother in his feelings.

..

..

..

The next day, Jake was at her house again. He shifted on his feet, quite unsure of how to react. Should he kiss her hello? Was she feeling better? Had she changed her mind after yesterday? Bella didn't know it either. She hesitated because he was doing it. Even though she was emerging more and more every day from that zombie-like state, she knew she still had some issues to resolve. Yesterday had been the first step.

They spent the day watching movies and talking as they always had done. They did some homework as well. Jake was good at math, and that came in handy for her. Because of her zombie-like months, she was falling behind in some subjects. She had to get on track if she wanted to keep her good GPA. They both felt a tension between them. The elephant in the room was practically waving at them. But they ignored it. Bella out of inexperience and Jake out of respect towards her.

She decided to make dinner instead of ordering take out. Something that required chopping and cutting and stirring to keep her mind of that tension. But her mind was not focused and she grabbed the pan with her bare hand, burning herself badly. She cursed loudly and ran to the sink. Fuck! it fucking hurt! Hot tears ran down her cheeks.

Jake was instantly beside her.

"You won't need the hospital luckily. But it's going to sting." Bella arched an eyebrow. "I've been playing with cars and engines most of my life. I've cut and burned myself more times than I care to admit." He admitted smiling at her. She got lost in that smile for a few seconds. "Do you have a first aid kid?"

She nodded. "Cabinet in the bathroom upstairs."

He was gone and back in two minutes. She saw him putting burning cream on her hand, and bandaging it. Carefully. She didn't think and leaned over kissing him. Again. He was so caring with her, so sweet. He took a few seconds to react but before Bella backed off he pulled her towards him and deepened the kiss. She fisted his hair, pulling softly, marvelling at its softness and thickness. She moaned and kissed him more fiercely. Jake couldn't bring her closer, so he lifted her and sat her on the kitchen's counter, she was now more to his level. He stood between her open legs. The kiss continued for a few minutes, getting hotter with each tick of the clock. His hands never left her waist. No matter how hard it was to not touch her everywhere. She was so beautiful.

Finally, after minutes of making out, he broke off the connection, leaving one last peck on her lips.

Her lips were swollen and her cheeks were incredibly red. Her eyes were hard to read. "I think we need to talk." She said breathlessly.

So, what do you think of the first chapter? Bella taking charge?!