Chapter Eight

Dark times, you could always find the bright side

I'm amazed by the things that you would sacrifice

Just to be there for me

Army – Ellie Goulding

-0-

So, Jacob and I kissed and what a kiss it had been. It felt different to anything I'd ever felt before and part of me wondered if perhaps it was because Jacob and I were already so close, like all we had done was take the next natural step in our evolving relationship. Things had changed between us but at the same time they hadn't. We were still the best of friends, we fooled around and hung out only now there was something maybe a little deeper and of course, we kissed.

Dad of course hadn't been as oblivious as I would have hoped that night, he knew straight up that he'd walked in on something, which was why I had to reassure him it had just been a kiss. His reaction I have to say was surprising, he'd simply smiled and hugged me the next day after we spoke. I could tell his reaction to mine and Jacob's deepening relationship had annoyed Bella somewhat, but I wasn't sure what she expected. Dad loved Jacob and had every reason to dislike and not trust Edward.

Usually, Bella would have been the first person I would go running to about what had just happened, but I had found I couldn't…or to be more precise just didn't want to. Although we'd sort of made up and were kind of talking and had spent that entire day together the day after prom, she was still being distant, and it had been Angela I ended up calling to seek advice. The other girl had been only too happy to listen to what I had to say, in fact we'd stayed on the phone for hours the night after the dance and I don't even think either one of us hung up, we simply fell asleep still on the phone.

Summer had hit quickly, and I had suddenly found myself constantly busy. I'd been able to secure a waitressing job at The Lodge to help earn a little extra cash and I'd also managed to find a volunteering job at the local vets. As well as that I was researching and setting up a timeline for what I needed to do and when it needed to be done by for senior year. It was unreal how excited I was for all of it, and even how much I was looking forward to starting my college applications. The only downside was my hectic schedule was keeping me insanely busy, but Jacob was good enough to understand. We still had the weekends and some weeknights where both he and his Dad would come round for dinner or Jake and I would hit the beach, but that was it for how much time we were spending together.

I was lucky Jacob understood, he was even good enough to keep encouraging me and offering to help when and where he could, even if it were only picking me from work. Even though I knew I was taking a lot on and becoming slightly obsessive with the whole preparation aspect of my upcoming year, but Jacob was so patient, making it his mission to keep me laughing and relaxed. I honestly don't know where I would have been without him.

Bella's time was spent in a completely different way. If she wasn't sleeping or working her part time job at Newtons Hardware, she was with the Cullen's or they were at my house, which was growing tiresome. Alice had this innate ability to make me feel like a bad sister, like I was somehow failing as a sister to Bella, like I wasn't good enough. I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't a bad sister, I had tried with Bella and I had continued to try despite being constantly brushed aside. Not once had Bella asked to hangout since that day at the beginning of summer and my many attempts to hang out had been neglected. We spoke, we conversed but that was as far as our relationship went at the moment.

I know my Dad disliked how things were now but there was little that I could do to help try and fix it. The truth was unlike Bella I had a life outside of my relationship, I had work, volunteering, friends, stuff that I had outside of Jacob. Aside from her job at the Newton's, Bella's entire life was focused on Edward and the other Cullen's. It wasn't me with the issue and I refused to feel like I was neglecting anything.

"All I'm saying kid is maybe if you…"

"Maybe if I what Dad? Begged her to hang out with me…I'm her sister! Her Twin! We've been best friends since forever…she's the one whose forgotten that. Not me." I argued back, combing my fingers through my hair before I pushed a pop tart into the toaster, scowling at the cupboard in front of me.

"I thought you guys were getting on…she's helping with the blood drive, isn't she? What about college?" he asked.

I knew he was just concerned, concerned about Bella and this obsessive hold Edward seemed to have over her but I refused to allow it to bring me down anymore. As far as I knew Bella still had every intention of helping me, Jess and Angela out, she'd even been throwing her own suggestions into the mix. We were still talking we just weren't hanging out, which sucked but I could live with that for now.

"Yes Dad, she's still helping out and you'd have to ask her about college, last I checked thought she had plans to go back to Phoenix." I told him, with a small shrug, turning to him I offered him a small smile. "Bella and I are getting on, we're talking…we're just not hanging out. It sucks but I'm not going to keep badgering her to do something she obviously doesn't want to do…I shouldn't have to."

Dad opened his mouth to argue but seemed to decide better of it and nodded his head. There was a small frown on his face as he looked back down at his paper. For just a moment I let my eyes linger on him before sighing and walking over to where he sat. Leaning over I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pressed a kiss to his cheek, letting my chin rest on his shoulder. "I'll ask her about hanging out today." I told him, giving his shoulder another squeeze as the pop tart I'd placed inside the toaster popped out.

"Thanks kid." Was his gruff reply as I hopped over to the counter. Despite knowing it was hot I plucked the tart out and dropped it onto my plate, licking my fingers. At the same time Bella came shuffling into the kitchen, her hand covering her mouth, hiding the yawn she was in the middle of.

"Mornin' sunshine." I sang, shooting her a bright smile when all she did was glare back at me.

"How are you always so chipper in the morning?" she grumbled, muttering a quiet good morning to Dad as she reached for the coffee.

"Well, it wouldn't be right if we were both grumpy would it." I replied, instantly regretting the giant bite out of my strawberry pop tart, when I was pretty sure I'd been close to third degree burns on my tongue. I watched Bella and Dad chuckle and narrowed my eyes dangerously at them both, to which Bella, mirroring my earlier actions just smiled brightly back at me.

"You do the same thing, every single time." Bella teased, poking my side as she passed by me to grab herself a pop tart from the box.

"But it smells so good…" I sighed, reluctantly deciding to wait on eating the rest. Dad chuckled again and Bella laughed. For just a moment it'd be hard to pinpoint anything wrong in our relationship, part of me couldn't help but wonder if I was making the problem as well, it wasn't exactly like I tried to make an effort with Edward. I didn't like him, I couldn't help it but something about him and the rest of the family set me on edge, the nightmares I'd had about them all didn't help.

Brushing my hands against my pyjama pants I shared a look with Dad before I turned to Bella, bumping her hip with my own and smiling when she turned to look at me curiously. "Say, we're all going camping this weekend, you in?"

"Who's we?" she asked, and I could hear the slight trepidation in her voice. I hesitated to reply, experience telling me she wouldn't come, that she'd show interest but ultimately turn me down. Dad was watching however, and I needed him to know I at least tried.

"Well, it's a class thing Jess organised, kinda like a last hoorah for the whole class to get together before Senior year. I know you and Edward probably won't be into it but, we're gonna have a bonfire, tell war stories, roast marshmallows…"

"No, it sounds fun." Bella cut me off, with a smile and nod and I faltered again, not quite believing I'd heard her right.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. Look…I know I've sucked in the sister department lately, I let my priorities slip. So I want to do this and I know Edward will to…I guess it could be a good way for you both to get to know each other a little better?" she added the last bit hopefully and I decided if Edward was the only way to get her to come be involved then I would gladly accept, plus she was right I had to try and shake off all the negative ideas I had of him and try to see if there was something I could find I liked about him. Especially because as it turned out he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Instead of replying I smiled and leaned in to give her a hug, which as always, she accepted and out the corner of my eye, I saw Dad smile, watching us fondly before blinking and looking back down at his paper.

-0-

So, without me even knowing, Jess had invited Jacob to the senior camping trip and he of course had brought Quil and Embry along. I was more than happy to see all three of them but was surprised Jacob had managed to keep it from me. Instead, he surprised me by walking into the clearing we were all setting up, with his friends flanking him either side. All of them looked out of place but when they saw me and Bella, they seemed to relax a little, making sure to set their tent up next to ours.

That was another thing, Dad had insisted Bella and I share a tent. I of course had no problem with that, it had been my plan from the beginning, Bella hadn't seemed very happy but had agreed. I kind of think she was hoping to be with Edward…like hell he was staying in our tent. That boy was going to have to get used to the idea he'd be sleeping alone.

Operation 'get to know Edward' kicked in straight away that morning. I was polite, I talked to him on the journey up to the campgrounds, we even laughed! Something about him didn't sit right with me, there was a constant knot in the pit of my stomach, but I chose to ignore it for Bella. Edward was just another kid, a classmate but in a lot of ways I could have sworn he was much older, mainly because of how he spoke to me. He was nice though, polite and it was easy to see why Bella had fallen for him, not that he was in anyway my type.

I was trying though…for Bella.

"I thought we didn't like Cullen…" Jacob whispered in my ear as he searched the forest for firewood. Looking back over my shoulder, towards the campground I shrugged before turning back to Jacob.

"Bella's trying…it's only fair that I put a bit of effort into trying with him." I spoke. Jacob nodded his head and frowned, he was walking backwards so he was facing the campgrounds and he huffed.

"Guys creepy as hell though." He added and I laughed. It was no secret that the Quileute's had issues with the Cullen's, a lot of which had to do with their legends.

"Come on Jake…those legends…" I trailed off, shaking my head as I crouched down to pick up another piece of wood for the fire.

"All the legends are born out of some truth." Jacob replied, looking towards camp again. Frowning I stopped walking and turned to follow his line of sight, when I did, I saw Edward standing beside Bella, but his focus was firmly on us. That knot in my stomach intensified and I took a step closer to Jacob before turning away from Edward's stare to look at my boyfriend.

"Jake come on, the cold ones…vampires, werewolves…this isn't a Stephan King novel…stuff like that doesn't exist, they're just stories." I repeated, quieting that nagging sound at the back of my head. Jacob frowned again, turning his attention onto me before he nodded, an easy smile appearing on his face.

"You're right." He said, though I could easily tell he didn't agree with me. I didn't mind though, the legends of the wolves and the cold ones were part of his culture, he had a right to believe whatever he wanted to believe.

I smiled and stood on my tiptoes to press a kiss against his lips, a kiss he happily accepted. His arm wrapped around my back and he held me closer, letting the kiss linger longer than I had intended before regretfully pulling away due to the wolf whistles coming from Embry and Quil not 10 metres away. Rolling my eyes, I turned to them and stuck out my tongue, leaning into Jacob as we continued our hunt for dry wood.

-0-

"Thank you for inviting me."

Glancing up from where I sat, I locked eyes with Edward. Smiling I nodded my head, turning my attention back to the marshmallow I was currently roasting. "Hey, it's no problem…it was a class thing anyway, no reason for you to miss out."

"I know but it means a lot you asked." He said and I turned to him as he sat down beside me on the log, his movements graceful and delicate. I was almost jealous, especially when I'd watched Alice move around the camp with movements that would make even the most gifted ballerina jealous. "I know it means a lot to Bella as well."

"Honestly, it's…it's great that you're here." I said and in a lot of ways I did mean it. It meant the world that he was trying, that Bella was actively taking part in the whole camping experience even though I knew she hated it and even if she was glued to Alice or Edward, at least she was here.

"I know you don't like me…"

"That's not true…." I trailed off as he gave me a pointed look. Grimacing, I lifted my left shoulder before looking back at my marshmallow, picking it off the stick with my fingers. "Okay fine…maybe it's a little true but it's not like I've had much of a reason to like you. Bella's been my best friend forever, I know her better than anyone and lately, I barely recognise her." I pointed out.

Glancing over to where Bella stood, I watched as she seemed to hang onto every word Alice was saying. Stood listening to her as though she was the most interesting person in the entire world. I frowned and looked down at my lap, sighing softly. "She became someone different when you came along. You're like a drug to her and I don't think it's healthy so no, I haven't had much reason to like you but I'm trying, for her."

To his credit Edward seemed to really take in what I was saying, and he didn't seem to take offence. I knew this guy cared for my sister, maybe even loved her in some way but I wasn't lying, what they had wasn't healthy and it had me worried for my sister.

"Thank you. For trying." He said simply, smiling slightly before standing gracefully and heading over towards my sister and his own. For a moment I watched him go, wondering if I should regret my bout of honesty but I couldn't even if I wanted and I did appreciate the fact he listened. I guess that was something that went in his favour, maybe things would change now…maybe he'd help make sure Bella knew she needed to shift her priorities to include her family.

"He wasn't asking you to become a blood bag, was he?"

Rolling my eyes, I laughed and flicked the remainder of my marshmallow at Embry, which he easily dodged with a little dance. Shaking my head at his shenanigans I shifted a little to allow Jacob to sit beside me, leaning into his embrace when his arm wrapped around my shoulder. Embry made a gagging motion, before covering his eyes at the show of affection. Jacob flicked a branch at his friend whilst I just laughed, settling into his hold as the others all began to gather around the fire.

The music seemed to quieten as everyone got comfortable around the large space. Jessica, ever the hostess stood once everyone was settled and smiled brightly, clapping her gloved hands together as she turned to each of us.

"Okay for most of us here, this is our last summer before we have to tackle senior year. It's going to be hard, but I couldn't be more excited. This is the year we've been preparing for since kindergarten and if you're anything like me, you've had your colleges picked out forever." She started and I remembered quickly her telling me the story of her trying to apply for Cornell back when she was 10. Like Jess I had my dream school picked out and was doing everything in my power to bring that dream to life.

"I guess tonight is all about just reminding each other that none of us are alone. We've been friends for years, grown up together, and we've even made some new friends only recently but they're still an integral part of all of this. We'll get through this year, we'll kick its butt because we are awesome, we are Forks class of 2006 and I cannot wait to take on this year by your sides.

As Jess finished her speech, we all clapped and cheered at which point I looked up at Jacob and smiled, closing my eyes when he placed a kiss on the tip of my nose. Letting my head rest against his shoulder I looked around for Bella, only she was joining in the festivities, she was looking at Edward who was staring into the fire with an almost tortured look on his face. Then, as if he could sense me looking at him, his eyes flickered to me and we were locked in a stare out.

There was something heart breaking in his eyes and I felt that knot in my stomach grow bigger as though warning me of something to come. I glanced to Bella and then back to Edward, his eyes lingering on me for a little while longer before he looked back down at his hands and then turned to my sister.

That sense of unease only grew as I watched them interact and I felt something heavy against my chest. I couldn't pinpoint what was happening but there was no denying the sense of foreboding that washed over me in those few seconds I'd stared into Edward's eyes.

I was looking forward to the year ahead, but something was telling me it was set to be one of the most challenging and heart-breaking years I was ever going to have.

-0-

So, it was the last weekend of Summer and between my voluntary work at the local vets, working part time in the grocery store and mapping out deadlines for the year ahead, it had all past by extremely quickly. Plus, part of me hated the fact that Jacob and I had barely done anything together. There'd been the camping trip and we'd hung out a lot, but a lot of my time had been taken up with school stuff, so the last weekend of summer was just ours.

The plan was to head into Portland, where we managed to indulge in a poorly written movie. It was so bad I came out of it still unsure on what had happened and regretting the loss of 132 minutes of my life. It wasn't a total loss though; the movie had been bad, but the company had been an oh so pleasant distraction. At one point, I'd been sure we'd get kicked out, with Jacob narrating his way through the film. Whilst it made me laugh, those around us didn't seem to appreciate the commentary.

"But seriously I mean what are you eating!" I exclaimed, drawing attention back to the fact that Jacob had shot up over the summer and begun developing muscles in such a way it made it impossible not to stare.

"I'm just filling out Grace. Maybe if we'd hung out more this summer it wouldn't seem so drastic." He teased and I narrowed my eyes dangerously. I knew he was joking, but it bummed me out we hadn't spent so much time together, we'd lost a lot of time over the summer because of my hectic schedule and it sucked. He chuckled and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, tucking me into his side and pressing a sweet kiss to my temple. "You know I'm teasing Swan."

"I know but you're right…I've completely blown this summer."

"Hey no, it's been an important summer, I get it. I really do. Plus, we've had those days at the beach, the camping trip and today so it's been enough okay." He assured me. Smiling softly, I nodded my head and leaned up, pressing a kiss to his lips before pulling away, feeling a little better. "Besides if I'm not there for Quil and Embry they get lonely." He joked and I laughed at that.

"It's like a buy one, get two free with you guys isn't it?" I joked. He laughed and it was by far my favourite sound ever, made even better by the fact it was me who had caused it. Taking his hand in mine I tugged him forwards, "Come on, let's get milkshakes for the drive home."

Not needing to be told twice, Jacob hurried after me, his fingers tickling my sides briefly before he jumped out the way of my flailing hand. Laughing he easily outran me before surrendering and holding the store door open for me. Rolling my eyes, I poked a finger into his stomach and stepped inside, reluctant to start the trip home but the drive was already going to be over an hour from Portland and if my predictions were right, the skies were about to fall.

-0-

As predicted the skies did open and a heavy downpour began just as we climbed into Jacob's Dad's truck. A sharp crack of lightening followed, lighting up the dark grey clouds that had appeared and seconds later the rolling boom of thunder reverberated overhead. Not that we were strangers to the rain or cold, but even we were surprised at how quick that storm hit and for once I was glad, I wasn't the one driving.

Instead, I became the designated radio DJ, a role I was only too happy to fill and since the weather was screwing with the radio, we opted instead for the extremely vintage cassettes his Dad had in the glove compartment. All too soon the music got that bad we opted for just talking instead and switched the radio off all together.

It was 15 minutes into a game of eye spy that something caught my attention outside. Blink and I would have missed it but as we passed by, I sat forward in my seat and turned to look behind us. "Wait…oh my god Jacob stop the truck!" I exclaimed. To his credit he didn't need much persuasion, but he did call after me when I opened the truck door and jumped out. "I saw something…" I said by way of explaining as I stood in the rain, not waiting for a reply before jogging back in the direction we'd just came.

The wind howled, it's force so strong it made the rain, that fell like a waterfall, so thick you could barely see in front of you, feel like bullets against skin as I moved about 20 meters back up the road, my eyes narrowing as I stared down at the bottom of the trees. Jacob was behind me now and part of me began to think I'd been imagining things, until I saw it.

"Crap…!" I heard Jake whisper.

A small, brown soggy carboard box was leaning up against a tree and inside was an extremely small, black and white puppy clearly distressed. Hurrying forwards, I crouched down and reached inside the box, gently wrapping my hands around the tiny puppy, and pulling it out. Opening my coat just enough I placed the puppy inside against my jumper and pulled my coat over it.

I stood and watched as Jacob carefully looked around, making sure there were no more before he hurried over to me and placed an arm around my back as we all rushed back towards the truck. Climbing inside I shut the door behind me and turned to him as he climbed in the driver's side. We were both wet right through, so knowing I wasn't providing any kind of warmth I glanced around. "Jake…?"

"Here." Jacob answered my question before I could even ask it. He plucked a thick blanket from the back seat of the truck and brought it forward, laying it on my lap and then turning the heating on. With the utmost care, I removed the puppy from my jacket and placed it on the blanket, making sure it was secure and wrapped up warm as Jacob started the truck.

"I can't…what the hell…who does that?" I said out loud, my heart breaking for the little bundle on my lap knowing the chances of survival for something so small were slim to none. Jacob shook his head, his eyes flickering down to the blanket as he turned off the road and began heading into town, again already reading my mind before I could vocalise the need for us to go straight to the vets.

"How you saw that I don't know…" he said, and I nodded in agreement. All it would have taken was a blink and I would have missed the box, missed the small, tiny creature inside moving around. Shaking my head, I willed myself not to cry as the pups distressed cries continued. Jacob reached out, taking my hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

With it being passed six now, we headed straight to the emergency vets. Cradling the blanket and the pup close to my chest, Jacob and I headed inside and were forced to wait as the puppy was taken and rushed straight through to the emergency office.

So, we made ourselves comfortable in the waiting area for a while before Jacob decided to ring our Dads who would no doubt be wondering where we were. Plus, it made it easier to call just one because they were both together, watching another game…of what I had no idea.

It wasn't long before they turned up at the vets, surprising Jacob and I as we sat hand in hand quietly in the waiting room. Dad's first course of action was to come and give me a hug, one I accepted wholeheartedly and returned. A hug from my Dad always comforted me and made me feel miles better, as did the hot chocolate he went and got me from the vending machine. Then we all just sat and waited, and I was grateful for that, because part of me had wondered if perhaps Dad and Billy would have forced us to go home, but they didn't, instead they understood, and I think even they wanted to make sure the little thing was okay.

"Charlie…Billy…!"

Doctor Eric Roberts, the emergency vet on call and good friend of our Dad's came out maybe an hour later, shaking both oh their hands. He waved at us to follow and I did, quickly. He led us into a small room where the focus was immediately on the small box on top of the examination table, with a small, heated lamp over it and a warm blanket inside. "Is he…I mean is it okay?" I asked, peering inside the small box and looking at the small pup, a small bandage wrapped around his leg, holding an IV drip in place.

"He, is a little fighter and my best guess is he's about six weeks old." Dr Roberts said, standing on the other side of the table, checking the levels in the IV before he refocused on the four people in front of him. "He was extremely cold, so you both did well getting him warmed up the way you did before you got him here, his sugar levels were extremely low and he was very weak, so I've given him a couple of injections to try and get his levels up. We're still trying to heat him up. It's a slow process so I'm trying to get in touch with one of the local foster families…he's going to need round the clock care for the next 24 hours so…"

"I'll do it." I'd opened my mouth and spoke before my brain had even kicked in. All eyes turned to me, but I just looked at my Dad and the Doctor. "We found him, that makes him our responsibility." I said, looking at Jacob who nodded.

"That's a lovely sentiment Grace but he's going to be a lot of work for the next few days, I'm not sure you fully understand." Dr Roberts said, but I was sure it was him who didn't understand. The second I picked the pup up I'd felt a claim to him, like all I wanted to do was make sure he was okay. I was attached the moment I held him.

"I've just watched this girl spend her entire summer working nonstop, volunteering here, between that she's been planning her senior year down to the minute as well as spending time with me. Trust me there's no one better to care for Gizmo here." Jacob said and I couldn't fight back the smile as I stared up at him, my hand reaching out to his. He threaded his fingers with mine and smiled back as we turned back to the Doctor, who was smiling as he looked at my Dad.

"Charlie?" he said my Dad's name as though asking for permission. I turned my eyes to my Dad as well, watching his brow furrow.

"Dad?" I said his name, drawing his focus on to me. "Please. I can do this. I can't leave him now." I pleaded, hoping he understood and to my surprise he seemed to. He glanced at me and then the box with the puppy in, before shaking his head and looking back at me.

"Alright. Doc, want to give us a run down on what this little guys gonna need?" Dad said and I smiled widely leaning up to kiss his cheek before we both turned back to the Doctor, who was watching the exchange in amusement. As he began to rattle off the instructions for the puppies care I turned to Jacob and smiled brightly, holding his hand tightly in mine as he leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"We're gonna need a name."

-0-

Hey guys so I guess this is a little bit of a filler chapter! However, we got some Jacob and Grace! Also a few of you mentioned it being strange the Cullen's hadn't spoken to Grace, well hopefully Grace's little chat with Edward was enough…for now…

As you guys may have noticed I've not been spending a lot of time focusing on the summer, in fact I've condensed it all into this chapter. This is mainly because there weren't many things to explore for the summer and, there's New Moon to focus on next and that's pretty much the beginning of everything for Jacob and Grace and I have a lot of big stuff planned. This isn't Bella and Edwards story, it's Grace's and Jacob's so they'll be getting the spotlight.

Right now, they're just two teenagers falling for one another. Things between them will become more intense and drama filled soon, remember it's their story so Bella's comatose months aren't going to be focused on too much. They will be mentioned because of the profound effect they will have on her relationships with her Dad and Grace but other than that, I'm excited. We'll see Bella's selfishness come to a head near the end of New Moon…her actions will have a profound effect on her family…and not in good ways. In fact, Bella's actions are going to lead to some big dangers for Grace in particular…and some things just can't be forgiven…

For those who have followed and favourited, your support means the world and I hope you guys will let me know what you think: ERCommandoTwilight, Blloom1234, Jmah0ca, Revan0bastilla97, chelsnichole12, hckord13, lillypad101, pclm90, Faery66, JuniperRose2, Tereeza, ToriRoe, WiredDreams, alexinarus, asiasea, kAsS3695, sarah0406, triscuit413

Twin268 - Thanks for the review lovely! Their relationship is indeed growing and will continue to do so over the next few chapters, before everything begins to turned on it's head!