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Determined that Bella should start with her best foot forward, Charlie had taken her to Forks High School to pick up the books and assignments she would need to ensure she was caught up with any required reading. Bella met the office staff and the few teachers who meandered through the office while hefting the current weeks' worth of assignments in her arms. The other students had begun classes nearly a month earlier, near the middle of August. Students passing by stared openly, intrigued at the rare spectacle of someone new in their midst. Most of the kids here had been raised together. Bella knew from experience that it automatically branded her an outsider as well as a possible source of amusement.
What looked like a small group of friends loosely gathered behind the glass wall, as if the scene were some kind of display. The tallest boy in the group had a dirty blonde bedhead and a letterman jacket. He shot Bella a half-cocked grin with a wink.
Bella felt her face heating up as she blushed. She turned her head forward just as a long pale, muscular arm shot out in front of the pile of books in her arms, gripping them and her forearms with his own. It was barely in time to stop her from walking directly into the building's outer door. She looked up into the face of what couldn't possibly be a student. His eyes were almost the color of honey and were striking alongside his short dark hair and ivory skin. He towered over her, his chin reaching the top of Bella's head. With his massive build, he looked at least twenty-five. The lanyard around his neck said senior on it along with his picture and the name Emmett Cullen. His grip was light; his hands like ice. Bella forced a nervous smile mid-shiver, taking a step back from his grasp. Her awkwardness was now on full display, she felt her cheeks getting impossibly warmer. Emmett gave a little chuckle.
"Gotta watch where you're going around here, little one," he teased softly. A strikingly beautiful and equally pale blonde girl leaned into his side, threading her arm around his possessively.
"Let's go, Emmett," said the blonde, giving him a firm tug away from the door. She shot a mocking glance in Bella's direction that was so subtle that Bella was sure that the blonde thought she hadn't noticed it. She hurried out and into the cruiser, relieved to at least have gotten her first awkward moment out of the way before the official first day. Bella's lack of coordination and constant blush was all she needed to be sure that there would be plenty more of those moments to come. She made her way through the assignments quickly, having done similar courses already in Phoenix. Knowing she wouldn't be playing catch up was another relief. With little else to do, she started working on Charlie's house, scrubbing it down the way it desperately needed.
Bella sat at the kitchen table Sunday afternoon, engrossed in one of her favorite Austen novels and waiting on potatoes to boil through. Bella had drug Charlie out of bed early on his day off, forcing him to go grocery shopping. He was huffy until Bella reminded him that if he wanted to eat, they needed to have food. His waking belly let out a rumble that made them both laugh, and Charlie conceded. Shopping was not his favorite pastime any more than it was Bella's, and the trip was over quickly. After they got back, he grumbled some more about his late start on the river and left to go fishing with Harry. Bella decided that grocery trips would be solely her job as soon as she could get a vehicle. Early mornings were not the time to bond with Charlie unless you were a donut with a cup of coffee or dangling from the end of a fishing pole. A knock at the front door forced her to unwind her mind from the novel she was reading. About to turn the knob, she hesitated at the raised voices of two men bickering at one another on the other side.
"The cruiser isn't here, dad! I'm telling you, Charlie isn't even home yet."
"Just knock on the damn door, Jacob," the other male voice grumbled.
Bella grinned, remembering the short, chubby best friend of her childhood and the son of Charlie's best friend since high school. Flashbacks of running through the mud in his backyard and jumping the tide pools on First Beach had often filled her with guilt. She had abandoned Jacob four years earlier without so much as a word after her last visit.
Bella rubbed her hands anxiously over her face, through her hair, and took a deep breath before opening the door, expecting to see a still shorter chubby teenager. Instead, a gangly young man towered over her. She gasped. He greeted Bella with a look of surprise, his fist raised in preparation to knock again. His large eyes were lovely, warm obsidian orbs flecked with gold. For a second, she didn't have any words, fighting a grin while biting her bottom lip.
"Bells?" Jacob practically whispered her name, his smile stretching across his face slowly. He rushed forward to sweep her up into a hug, her feet suddenly dangling above the ground. She hugged him back tightly, half afraid he was going to drop her. Jake continued to hold her steadily, laughing as she loosened her grip on his shoulders. With a jerk, he stepped backward, tossed Bella upwards, and dropped his arms around her thighs. Even as a short, chubby child, Jacob had been impressively strong. Bella laughed nervously and blushed. As he took a few steps, Bella finally got the chance to see behind Jacob's towering frame. There was an older man in a wheelchair staring up at them, chuckling. The last time Bella had seen them both, Billy was still able to walk around on his own. He was never very good at taking care of himself, especially after his wife died. Diabetes had stolen his ability to stay on his feet, and while he could stand very briefly, walking was out of the question. Jacob was his father's full-time caregiver by the time he turned twelve.
Bella tried to keep herself balanced upright but ultimately failed, falling over Jake's shoulder with her ass-end in the air. "Hi, Billy," she squeaked, her breath coming out in a whoosh. Both men laughed heartily before she managed to croak out, "How are you both?"
"We are fine, thank you. I hope you don't mind, Bella," Billy said. "Jake hasn't seen you in so long that I wanted it to be a surprise."
"No, not at all," she replied. "Um, Jake?" Bella tapped on his back with her palms, and he set her back on her feet.
"Sorry," he chuckled and immediately grabbed her waist again to keep her from tumbling right down the porch and into his father's lap.
"Wow, Bells. You never did gain any semblance of balance, did you?"
"Shut up, Jake," she laughed. She turned to hold the door open, silently inviting them inside. Jake was pulling Billy up the stairs into the house just as Charlie pulled into the driveway. He jogged from the cruiser and helped lift his best friend up and over the final and tallest step.
"Hey, old man! What are you guys doing here?" Charlie asked as he and Jacob set Billy's chair on the floor.
"Just brought Jake by to surprise him," Billy said. "It's been so long since we've seen Bella, I wasn't sure we'd recognize her right away. She's still the spitting image of Renee, though. With your eyes and grace, of course."
Charlie harrumphed. He'd heard those words a million times. His eyes, nose, dark curls, and clumsiness were the only physical traits she had gotten from her father. Billy removed his hat and tossed it with practiced expertise onto the coat rack behind the door. He, Jake, and Charlie all removed their jackets and followed Bella into the kitchen.
"Would you guys like to stay for dinner?" she asked. Bella turned off the potatoes and moved the pan to the sink to drain the boiling water.
"That would be great, Bells!" Charlie said happily. "Guys?"
"Sure, sure. I'm sure Jacob would love to catch up with Bella for a while," Billy said and winked at his son. Jake just smiled at her warmly as he sunk into a kitchen chair.
"Billy, what do you say we let these kids catch up and go watch some baseball?" Without another word, Billy wheeled himself over to the couch and transferred himself out of his chair. Jake and Bella watched as Charlie grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and tossed one to Billy. The two fathers always reverted to their playful selves together, cracking jokes and mumbling to each other conspiratorially. Jake and Bella listened and laughed as he helped her chop up onions, celery, and eggs for the potato salad. Charlie had come home with freshly cleaned fish in tow, so Bella put it in a bowl to marinate for the next day while waiting for the rest of their dinner to cook.
She asked Jake what life was like living on the Rez now that he was a teenager. He began talking about his extra responsibilities since having to take care of Billy more than Billy could take care of him. Bella knew the situations were very different, but the way he explained them was so similar to the way she felt about her relationship with Renee when things were on good terms. The longer they talked, the more ashamed Bella felt about having ignored her childhood best friend. She found herself remembering more things about their summers together as Jake reminisced with stories. He reminded her of some of the other Quileute kids, filling her in on how they were doing. She found herself laughing with Jacob easily and was disappointed that he went to school on the Reservation rather than being at Forks High School.
Supper came and went quickly. Jake once again helped while Bella cleaned up the mess. Before he and Billy headed out the door for home, Charlie hopped up to grab the keys to his cruiser.
"See you soon, Bella!" Jacob said as he slipped out the door behind Billy.
"Where are you going?" she asked Charlie.
"To take these guys home," Charlie said unceremoniously.
"Didn't they drive here?" she asked.
"Sure did. In your truck." Charlie said. Bella's head whipped up in surprise.
"M-my truck?" she stammered.
"Yep. I just bought it from Billy. It's not much, but it should help with transportation around town and school, at least." Charlie said. "Now, you can go to the grocery store without dragging me out of bed on my day off." He'd been waiting to drop this on her the whole night, she realized. Bella launched herself at Charlie, her arms around his neck.
"This is perfect!" she nearly shouted, placed a hard peck on his cheek, and ran out the door, intent on inspecting the monster in the driveway. Unfortunately, her feet tried to stay behind. Jake had been making his way back inside for Billy's Jacket and caught Bella as she fell face-first into him. Foreheads collided, and both tumbled off the porch and to the ground, Jacob somehow managed to land with her directly on top of him, knocking the wind from them both.
They could hear Billy rolling with laughter from the front seat of the cruiser. Both Jacob and Bella laid there out of breath for a moment before she rolled off of him. Her back hit the ground, releasing an involuntary, "Oomph." Charlie jumped from the porch and over both teens on the ground, trying to stifle his laughter.
"Jesus, kids. I never could bring Bella home from a playdate without a bunch of bruises. Now I remember why." Charlie tried to force a straight face and failed miserably. As soon as Bella regained her breath a little, she stood and grabbed Jake's hand to pull him up. She might as well have been trying to lift the truck. He chuckled and stood on his own, still holding her hand tightly. His hand was large and warm, the skin already rough at sixteen from his too-many responsibilities at home.
"If you wanted to tackle me, Bells, you could've done it before I had a full stomach," Jake said, rubbing his belly in a circular motion. Billy roared with laughter again while Charlie climbed into the car.
"Show me this truck!" she spat out, trying to ignore the heat in her face, and hurried to the driveway. Billy and Charlie watched, mumbling quietly to each other while Jake told her all about her new-to-you ride and how he'd rebuilt the engine himself.
"If anything ever needs fixed or tuned up, bring it out to the Rez," Jake said. "I'll take care of it." Bella threw herself back at Jake, giving him the tightest hug she could manage. Before she could say boo, he had planted a big smacking kiss on her forehead. "Anytime, honey," Jake said. He jogged inside the house for Billy's Jacket and then back to the cruiser.
"Hey, Ch-Dad," Bella called out, "What about a test drive? Can Jake ride back to the Rez with me?" Jacob shot her a blinding smile and looked over at their fathers. Billy just smiled, but Charlie was reluctant.
"It's getting pretty late, Bells. I'd rather your first solo trip to the Rez be in the daylight. Lots of animals out and shit. Plus, Jake has school in the morning, too," Charlie said and nudged Billy in the side with his elbow.
"Yeah! Yeah, school." Billy mumbled. "That's too bad, kids."
"That is too bad," she said to Jake. "I was hoping to take the first spin with the mechanic. Maybe next time you guys are involved in a surprise, Charlie will let me have it in the daylight." Billy released another roar of laughter. Bella waved goodbye to the ornery bunch, feeling Jake's eyes on her as she walked away. She turned back at the door to watch them leave.
"Come on, Jake!" Charlie said and laughed, pulling Jacob from his thoughts. He gave Bella another blinding smile before he climbed into the back seat. Charlie tossed the car into drive before Jake could even get the door shut.
'And this is the police chief driving,' she thought as she shook her head and made her way back into the house to shower. Bella had a feeling sleep would be a long time coming with the excitement of starting school the next morning. She laid awake in her bed for a while, wondering how she had spent the last four summers without Jake's happy personality. Somehow she knew deep down that if they had kept in contact, the life she had lived with Renee would have been easier to deal with. Jacob had always been empathetic, kind, and trustworthy to her. Grateful for the opportunity to get to know him again and at least have one friend in the area, Bella finally relaxed and closed her eyes. For what was probably the first time in years, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.