Change of Plans
JacobxBella; Edward
Rated M
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers
Change of Plans
Chapter XVI
The ride back to Forks was silent, Jacob and Bella not saying anything as Jacob drove her home in his Rabbit following the Pack meeting. The meeting had run long and it had become late, making it nighttime before Jacob took Bella home. Jacob was silent as he contemplated everything that was said at the meeting, while Bella was silent for a completely different reason. She now knew that she loved Jacob, loved him romantically the same way he loved her. But now that she knew she did, she was contemplating how to tell him.
Well, it wasn't just that she was contemplating how to tell him, but she was also worried about his reaction. How receptive would Jacob be to her confession of her feelings for him? After all, he already believed that she didn't return his feelings in a romantic sense, and he believed she gave him false hope when they slept together, only to turn around and run back to Edward. Would he even believe her now? Would he think she was lying? She didn't want to hurt him again, and she wouldn't, not in the way she had already. But still, that still pegged the question of if she confessed, would Jacob reject her like she had rejected him?
Jacob pulled into the driveway of the Swan residence, putting his car in park and turning it off. Looking over at the brunette, he took note of her worried and contemplative expression. Thinking she was possibly still worrying about the redheaded leech knowing about her pregnancy, Jacob took hold of her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze saying, "Everything will be alright, Bells. We'll deal with the redhead accordingly when the time comes. She'll be shown no mercy, I can promise you that."
Shaking her head, Bella replied, "I'm not worried about Victoria, Jake. I mean, I am worried about that, don't get me wrong, as well as about the newborn army and the Pack. I'm especially worried about you, Jake. And I'm concerned about this meetup with the Cullens to discuss battle plans; not to mention what could happen when the time comes to actually face the army."
"Like I said honey, everything will be okay." Jacob delivered a sweet kiss on her forehead, hopefully giving her comfort to his words to help ease her worries.
Bella blushed profusely at the feel of Jacob's lips on her forehead, her heart quickening in her chest. It wasn't like Jacob had never kissed her head or forehead before, but she hadn't realized that she had loved him before. Thus, him kissing her now, it made her feel warm and giddy on the inside. Jacob pulled and looked at Bella, the brunette returning his look. They stared at one another, looking into each other's eyes. Jacob's eyes were the deepest, warmest brown she had ever seen, even in the darkness of the Rabbit. She wanted to tell him how she felt, whether he believed her or not, though she hoped to God that he did.
Feeling the words begin to bubble up, Bella opened her mouth to speak and tell him that she loved him, only to be interrupted by headlights shining into the Rabbit from behind. Blinking in surprise from the blinding light, both she and Jacob turned around to look out the back of the car, only to see Charlie's police cruiser parked behind the Rabbit. It was silent for a moment before Charlie's voice was suddenly heard, obviously speaking through the PA system.
"JACOB BLACK, MOVE YOUR VEHICLE OUT OF MY DESIGNATED SPOT! BELLA SWAN, TIME TO GO INSIDE!"
"Oh my God," Bella mumbled embarrassedly while Jacob simply laughed in response. Sticking his hand out the window, Jacob waved it to let Charlie know he'd move, and it wasn't long before he and Bella's father exchanged places in the driveway.
Getting out of the Rabbit, Bella turned to Jacob and smiled before saying, "Goodnight Jake. I'll talk to you later."
Smiling, Jacob replied, "I'll talk to you soon, honey. Goodnight, Bells."
Jacob soon backed out of the driveway and drove back towards La Push, Bella looking after him fondly as he drove away. With another call from her dad, Bella turned and walked into her house, shutting the door behind her. She turned to move out from in front of the door, only to stop seeing Charlie standing and looking at her. Frowning, she asked, "What is it?"
Charlie looked at her a little longer before saying, "I saw you two in Jacob's car before I turned on the headlights, and I know what I saw. I know I've asked you this before, but I'm going to ask again. Are you falling romantically for Jacob?"
Bella stared at her father for a moment before answering, "Yes, I am. I have."
"Really?" Charlie's voice was full of his surprise, his chocolate brown eyes wide. "That's…that's great, kiddo. Have you told him?"
"Well, I was going to before you rudely interrupted and embarrassed us. Great timing, dad."
The brunette couldn't help but giggle at her father's sheepish expression, him giving her an apology while promising he won't mess it up for her again. After reassuring her father it was alright and that she'd confess to Jacob later, she asked if they could order pizza; she had been craving it all day. Nodding, Charlie went to order pizza for delivery while Bella went up to her room, deciding to work on her homework for a bit before dinner arrived.
A week had gone by, and Bella hadn't seen Jacob since that night he dropped her off at her house. She was worried about him, knowing that he was working with the Pack for their upcoming meeting with the Cullens. Not only that, but she simply wanted to see him, wanted to talk to him. He hadn't even texted her, but she didn't hold it against him, not when she knew he was busy. It wasn't until Friday, sometime before school ended, that she received a text from Jacob. The text read that he would be picking her up from school that day. Even though she had driven herself to school, she was excited for Jacob to pick her up.
The bell soon rung to end the school day, and Bella gathered her belongings and left the classroom. She walked among the sea of students, wanting to meet Jacob out front where he was surely already waiting. However, as she turned the corner, she was stopped by none other than Edward. His golden eyes looked down at her from his pale, marble face, and he said, "Bella, I want to talk to you for a minute."
"What makes you think that I'd be willing to give you the time of day after how you treated me?" Bella asked him coldly. She moved to walk around him, only for him to grab her arm and pull her back. Jerking her arm away, she glared up at him and asked, "What?"
"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I was wrong for what I did and how I treated you, especially after it was found out that you were pregnant." Edward looked into her eyes, seeing surprise and suspicion from his apology. Giving her a small, yet ashamed smile, he said in a low voice for only her to hear, "I've been doing some thinking, and I realized that I was absolutely wrong and awful to try to dazzle you into making you get rid of the baby. I love you, and I shouldn't have done that. It wasn't fair to you, and I haven't been a good boyfriend. I hope that you'll forgive me Bella, and hopefully take me back. And I'm even willing to co-parent and raise your baby, along with Black. What do you say, love?"
Edward reached up to try and stroke her face, only for her to step back out of his reach. Bella glared at him, knowing exactly what he was doing. He was trying to dazzle her again but was being subtle about it. It wasn't going to work though, not again. Looking at him in absolute disgust, she told him, "You're lying through your teeth, you bastard. I am never taking you back, Edward, and co-parenting was never an option, one that you made clear in the beginning when it was discovered I was pregnant."
"My love, I just want to help you," the vampire insisted.
The brunette scoffed. "Yeah, right. If you really want to help me, then you can fix the mess with Victoria that your family and you have caused. Now do me a favor and piss off."
Not waiting for him to respond, Bella stomped past him and exited the school. As soon as she stepped out onto the steps, she grinned at seeing Jacob leaning against his car. Rushing down the steps to him, she ran into his arms in a hug, his strong arms wrapping around her as she did. As he held her close, Jacob asked softly, "Are you okay? You smell like that leech."
Nodding, Bella responded, "Yeah, I'm okay. Edward tried to sweet talk me back into his arms, but I told him there was no chance in hell of that happening again."
Jacob grinned and pulled away before tapping on the window of his car. The door to the Rabbit opened and Jared stepped out, smiling at Bella in greeting before saying, "Your keys, please."
"Jared will take your truck back to your house while you and I spend some time together."
Bella nodded and handed the keys to her truck over to Jared, watching him walk to the red beast and get inside before cranking it and driving away. She then got into the Rabbit with Jacob and they soon left the parking lot as well, Bella catching a brief glimpse of Edward and Alice looking after them in the sideview mirror.
Jacob drove them to First Beach, and the two of them walked to their spot on the beach. They sat down and looked out at the waves for a bit before the brunette turned to the Shifter. "So, how have things been? I haven't seen or heard from you in a couple of days."
"I've just been working with Sam and the Cullens concerning the redhead, that's all," Jacob replied. "We're going to have our first practice fighting session tomorrow around noon."
"What?"
"Yeah, it was an idea of the blond vampire's idea."
"Carlisle?"
"No, the silent, brooding one."
Bella blinked for a moment before realization dawned on her. "Oh, you mean Jasper."
"Yeah, that one. He apparently has experience in fighting vampires, newborns especially. He's going to apparently be leading these sessions and helping us prepare. It will also be a chance to see how vampires move in combat and for them to see how we move as well."
Silence followed Jacob's words for a moment before Bella leant against his large frame. "I don't want you to get hurt, Jake."
Wrapping an arm around her, Jacob held her close and said, "I'll be alright, Bells. And to make you feel more at ease, I insisted that you be there, too. Blondie backed me up saying you deserved to know what was happening as well, seeing as you're at the center of this."
"I wish I wasn't."
"I know, but all we can do now is try to end this before it gets any worse. Anyway, Blondie will be picking you up tomorrow and bringing you to the meeting place. Everything will be fine, Bells. Trust me on this."
Bella frowned and bit her lip, leaning further into Jacob. She was still worried, she couldn't help that. But she would try to do as Jacob said and trust him. She had to, and had to believe that everything would be fine, just like he said.
Like Jacob had said, Rosalie picked Bella up around eleven-thirty, driving her to the Cullen mansion before leading her to a vacant clearing in the woods behind the property. Bella took note that the Cullen coven were already present and were obviously waiting for the Pack to arrive. Edward and Alice, having been looking at her since her arrival, tried to speak to her, only for Rosalie to hiss and tell them to back off. Checking her phone for the time, Bella saw the time turn to twelve in the afternoon. Hearing a small hiss coming from Alice, Bella looked up to see the Pack emerge from the woods.
The wolves were still as magnificent as they had been the first time she had seen them. And like the last time, Sam was in front. However, Jacob was not among them. Frowning, she looked past them for any sign of the large russet wolf that was Jacob, but to no avail. Turning her attention to Edward and Carlisle that were speaking to Sam, she saw Edward stiffen and his expression turn to one of annoyance. Carlisle frowned in concern and asked, "What is it, Edward?"
"It would seem that we can't start without the Pack's Alpha," Edward replied through his teeth.
"What do you mean? Sam is Alpha, isn't he?"
"Not anymore, apparently."
Bella blinked in confusion before she felt something cold and wet on the back of her neck, turning around, she came face to face with Jacob in his wolf form, him looking as regal and majestic as ever. His large brown eyes looked at her adoringly, though there was something different about his demeanor than usual. Thinking about what Edward had said, realization suddenly dawned on her. In a voice full of awe, she couldn't help but say, "Jake."
Jacob nuzzled her shoulder briefly before moving to stand with the Pack, taking his position in the front, Sam on his right. It was obvious what had happened, what Edward meant by saying Sam was no longer Alpha. Jacob had taken up his birthright. He was now acting Alpha of the Pack.
Author's Note: So sorry this chapter is so late! I've been really busy lately, but I wanted to deliver this chapter to you all, and I hope you all enjoyed it. Love, SehunsBae37.