Hello, darlings! Thank you so much for all the love this story received in the first chapter. I'm very happy you liked it as much as I like writing it.

I hope you enjoy this one too.

Stay safe, review, and enjoy!

SILVER

Chapter 2: It's not the same.

She shook her head from side to side as if that would take away the strange events. "Asshole" she mumbled under her breath. It was all she could say.

A hotheaded silver wolf had dampened her mood. But she wasn't angry at him. Well, not that much. She was also mad at her for letting him ruin her day. She should ignore him like Angela kept saying.

She highjacked the Black's kitchen and raided their fridge. Jake kept telling her she should feel at home, so she followed his word. She chuckled lightly to herself while preparing something to eat. Jake was patrolling, but he knew she was still there.

…

…

"Whatcha doing?" Bella gasped softly in surprise at Jake's voice. She hadn't heard him arrive.

He was grinning mischievously when she turned around. She ignored his grin, answering his loved to startle her. For someone so observant, she could be highly distracted. Besides, with him having gotten over his romantic feelings for her, it got easier to tease her.

"Pasta with ground meat. I thought you might be hungry." His grin turned into a wide smile.

She knew he loved pasta. It was her way of saying thank you for everything he's done for her since she came back to Forks to live with her dad.

"Thank you, Bells."

"Go shower while this is ready. You stink." He kissed her cheek and left.

She chuckled quietly at her best friend's reaction. She didn't mind the kisses on the cheek. They didn't bother her as they had before. They bore a different meaning than that time he tried to kiss her. Or that time he actually kissed her, when she broke her hand.

He still pestered her about giving up her doomed relationship with Edward. To choose him, choose a life that would be as easy as breathing.

She wasn't so sure now that he wasn't right. Even if she didn't love him like that, and even though she was ninety percent sure he didn't love her like that anymore.

That made her angry. Angry at herself. At the world. How dare she question everything she had set in for her life? Why was she questioning everything now? What had changed?

She huffed, annoyed while putting the lid on the sauce.

She knew what it was, or more accurately, who it was. She just didn't want to fully accept it.

…

…

"So, you're hiding from the leeches." He teased while he rolled the pasta on his fork.

"Jake…" She warned, but she found that she didn't care anymore about the name-calling.

He only rolled his eyes.

She wasn't budging.

He left the subject die.

…

…

The next day she stayed home. She was bored. Angela was on a date with Embry. Jacob was most likely sleeping. Edward was hunting with the rest of his family. Charlie was at the station. She was alone. If Victoria decided to attack now, she would be easy prey. She was utterly alone, something that terrified her. She didn't want to think. If she thought, that would lead to admitting certain things she wasn't ready to admit.

A knock on her door surprised her. She wasn't expecting anyone. All of her friends were busy. She shrugged and walked towards the door. She couldn't hide her surprise once she opened the door, to see Paul standing there. His permanent scowl gone.

"What are you doing here?" She asked rougher than she intended. But she had a right to, because last time he showed up unannounced, he intimidated her, scared her, and subtly threatened her. One of the things she didn't want to admit was that his behavior had hurt more than had scared her. Another of the things that she didn't want to think about was why that happened. He didn't speak much to her, but when he went out of his way to be cordial with her, he was the sweetest man. He listened, really listened to her.

"I come in peace." Instead of raising his hands, in the universal signal of surrender and peace, he lifted a tube of Oreos in her direction. She immediately took them. He smiled amusedly.

He was handsome when he smiled, she noticed.

She stood aside to allow him entry into her house.

He passed her, leaving a trail of god heavenly smell. She groaned internally. She was in so much trouble.

"Thank you for the peace offering, by the way." She pointed at the cookies. Double creamed. Her favorite.

"You're always eating them, so I thought it would be a good way to apologize." He had noticed that aspect of her personality when not even Edward had. And she was always eating them, just as he said.

She eyed him, confused. "What are you apologizing for?"

"Yesterday, when you were at Jacob's house, I behaved like an ass. I don't know what came over me." But he did. His man and his wolf were fighting over something. He wasn't entirely sure what the wolf wanted, but he knew he wanted her to stop being so damn submissive.

"Thank you. I appreciate it." She smiled at him.

He nodded. He didn't want to leave. So, he stayed. He helped her with her chores. Something Bella would have never imagined. He kept her company. They talked, they joked, they fought, and he apologized for upsetting her.

He was so confusing. He was so hot and cold and lovely and an ass. It was driving her crazy. She craved his company, but at the same time, she wanted to kick his ass.

When he left, she was left with more noise in her head than she knew what to do with.

As soon as she closed the door, she rested her forehead on the door and groaned.

What had he done to her?

…

…

…

A few days later, she was with Alice, who had insisted on a girls' day. The tricky point being that it was only the two of them. She didn't care to ask where the others were.

So far, they had played games, watched movies, Bella had eaten, they had talked. Bella started to relax eventually. Maybe Alice just missed her. And to be honest, she had missed her friend too.

But Bella still had this noise in her head. It was a buzzing sensation that started around a week ago, the day after the bonfire where she heard the story of the third wife. It was annoying, and it didn't go away. At some point, she couldn't hide it anymore and exploded. She stood up and began pacing angrily.

"He is loud, obnoxious, and so damn infuriating." She exclaimed, raising her hands and letting them fall with a loud slap on her thighs.

Alice observed her silently while she ranted about someone. She couldn't be talking about Edward. Those two didn't have the fire enough to fight like that. Edward could be infuriating, but not to the point of making Bella that mad. So, she asked, "Who?"

"Paul."

Suddenly, everything made sense for Alice. Her insistence to got to the Reservation, her not wanting Edward around, her distance from the family. She tried her best to keep the disappointment and sadness from her voice and face. She tried to be what Bella needed at that moment, a friend. With all the pain bottled inside her, she said, "And you're in love with him."

That statement completely drained the fight out of Bella and disarmed her. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, resembling a fish out of the water. Alice had pointed out loud the very exact thing Bella was avoiding admitting. "What? You know I love Edward."

But there was something inside her telling her that not even she believed that. She groaned and massaged her temples. There goes the noise again.

Alice didn't hide the disbelief from her face this time. Who was she trying to convince? "Loving and being in love are not necessarily the same thing." She was going to need to be out of Edward's range for the next while, in respect of Bella's privacy.

"In this context, they are." She replied stubbornly, despite knowing that Alice was right.

Alice kept quiet after that. If she had conflicted feelings for two guys, it was best for her to sort them out independently.

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