DISCLAIMER: I DONT OWN ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS STORY; CHARACTERS OR OTHERWISE -THIS IS A RE-IMAGINATION OF AN EXISTING WORLD - EVERYTHING BELONGS TO A MRS STEPHENIE MEYER
***This is my very first fan fiction story and also my very first attempt at creative writing. I am in every sense an amateur and all comments, guidance, and constructive criticism are welcome***
I ran out to my truck hopped in and headed down a once familiar route. The drive that was once so commonplace now felt strange, like I was traveling through time. Jacob felt lifetimes away, rather than twenty minutes. The drive felt as if it took forever, but once I start weaving the familiar turns on the rez, my stomach dropped. I didn't even know what I was going to say once I got there. As I pulled into Jake's driveway instinct took over. The rabbit wasn't where it was usually parked. Maybe he wasn't home from school yet. If he was home he probably would have heard my truck by now and come running out to greet me, however, maybe running out to my truck wasn't our standard greeting anymore. I got out and took a quick detour out to see if he was in the garage…empty. I knocked on the front door. "Come on in Bella" Billy's familiar voice rang. He greeted me in the doorway "Jacob hasn't come home from school yet" He must have seen my eyes darting around the house…then again why else would I be there "Maybe he is at Sam's place. I'll call if you like." He continued
"Yes please that sounds perfect" I responded
"What's with the visit?"
"I just needed to see Jake"
"Does Cullen know you're here?" He asked skeptically
"Um...no not exactly"
"mmhmm" Billy nodded his head, he always understood more than was ever said aloud, this was a trait Charlie certainly didn't share. Billy dialed and handed me the receiver. There was no answer. This was agony. I finally had my opportunity to talk with Jake and he was nowhere to be found.
"No answer," I said as I hung up the phone
"Well, you're more than welcome to wait here. But he could be gone a while" Billy responded
"Sure… I mean thank you I would like that" I corrected myself. The open-door policy I used to have in the Black household now seem strained.
I went and made myself comfortable on the couch, Billy was watching sports highlights, it was painful to sit there, I wanted to go out searching but it was useless he could be miles away. I didn't even know what to say when he got here, or how we react to me being here. Time to reflect on my decision to be there, I started second-guessing myself. I didn't even know what I was going to tell him, I needed to see his face, hear his voice then I would know…maybe. Twenty of the worlds slowest minutes passed when I heard the screen door slam I jumped up and started to leap towards the entrance I was about two seconds from wrapping myself around the young man standing in the entrance before realizing it was Quil Atera.
"JAC….oh hey Bella...long time no see."
"Oh hi, Quil, no kidding, how are you?" I responded a little defeated. I was not only startled by my disappointing discovery but also by Quil himself it was obvious he had experienced changes outside the realm of pubescence. He was at least a foot taller and several inches broader. Just seeing Quil in the typical wolf attire…no shirt and cut-offs made me long for Jake.
"Oh, I'm okay…I take it you're looking for Jake too...not that old Billy here isn't great company."
"I heard that " Billy mumbled, up until that point Billy hadn't even acknowledged Quil's abrupt entrance
"Yeah we called Sam, there's no answer" I offered
"Well he's not at Sam's that's for sure, but I can think of a pretty good way of getting him here in Ooooh I dunno about 3 seconds."
"Oh yeah?" I said suddenly excited
"Yeah, but can you do me a favor and shut him up for me?"
"What? How?" This confused me but Quil didn't even hesitate to hear my response before he was out the door.
"He's got a point," Billy said as I walked back into the living room.
I'd always had a soft spot for Quil, seeing him like this upset me a little, I wondered how much he'd changed, but I had to admit the change looked quite good on him. In mere moments Quil was back.
"Well that takes care of things, He'll be just a couple minutes" He sat down on the couch beside me kicked his feet up on the coffee table with a satisfied smirk on his face.
"Quick thinking Quil" Billy teased
"Yeah, I consider myself to be the brains of this whole operation." Quil laughed. "So Bella how's Forks treating ya?"
"Oh you know how it is, everyone is getting worked up about graduation and such"
"So what brings you here, couldn't stay away? You weren't missing us, were you?
"What? You pack of mongrels?...maybe."
"Mongrels? Who you calling Mongrels? More like a pack of perfect Gentlemen."
"Last time I checked gentlemen wear shirts…and don't put their dirty feet up on the table."
"Oh picky picky" teased Quil, but you have to admit, we're pretty irresistible mongrels if you ask me"
I rolled my eyes and I could practically feel Billy rolling his eyes in unison.
Just then the door slammed open and Jacob was in the living room before I had the chance to stand up.
"Bella!" He ran to me and picked me up and spun me. I immediately realized how much I missed this feeling: the closeness, the physical contact. His warm body burned on my cool skin but the feeling was familiar. He put me down and pointed toward Quil. "Quil you're lucky she's here or I would've have your head"
"Me?… Lie?.." he scoffed "I'm offended!"
"What are you doing here?" Jake continued ignoring Quil and looking back at me. "Where's Cullen? ... Never mind, I don't care. I'm just happy you're here" That smile was enough to make me explode
"Yeah ever since we talked last night I knew I needed to get down here, and the opportunity presented itself so I headed here straight away." I couldn't keep a goofy grin off my face
"Right on! Weeeellllll it also happens I have the night off so…I'm free to do whatever"
"Great me too!"
"Ah hem.." Quil interrupted
"Yeah not a chance Quil" answered Jake without even hearing the question
"Aw man Pleeeease?...You owe me!" Quil made a begging gesture.
"There is no way in hell I'm covering you tonight, not with Bella here" He responded without looking away from me Like he still couldn't believe I was standing right in front of him.
"I really should have foreseen the flaw in this plan," Quil said shaking his head
"I thought you said you were the brains of this whole operation?" I reminded him, Jacob started to laugh.
"Oh HA HA" Quil retorted. "This is your fault you know" He continued as he got up and walked toward the exit, pointing at me as he passed "You better shut him up or this will be a complete waste" Quil began shaking the finger at me meanwhile Jacob was still chuckling at the idea of Quil being the brains trying to bury his amusement in his hand.
"Hey Quil, do you mind buggering off… we have some catching up to do."
"Yeah, Yeah say no more but this makes two you owe me, Black!"
"Worth it, Atera! " he laughed looking back at me.
I heard the screen door slam behind Quil.
Jake wasted no time. "Come on, let's go for a walk"
He turned on his heels and led me outside.
"Thanks, Billy!" I yelled on my way out the door
"What a day! Is that why you're here? The sun is out" Jake asked
"Sort of I guess"
"Well if that's the case it won't be so tough for you to get out here"
"Yeah it's a little more complicated than good weather outings"
"Well spill it then"
"I feel as though there is quite a bit we need to work through while I'm here so I want to get anything frivolous out of the way first, tell me about you, what's going on in La Push."
"Oh... I see how it is" replied Jake throwing his head back for dramatic effect. My news is frivolous now is it?"
"No, That's not what I meant" I blushed and shook my head "Of course not Jake you know that I want to know"
"Sure sure," he said teasingly "hmm…where to start. well obviously you saw Quil…he's one of us now, and loving every minute of it."
"Yeah it suits him"
"Here we go again." Jake chuckled "You and Quil... I hope your crush on him is long gone cause you don't stand a chance now"
"Not to entertain your skewed notions of mine and Quil's friendship, but what is that supposed to mean? I don't stand a chance now that he's all buff and wolfy, cause that didn't seem to matter to you"
"I knew it!...and no that's not why Bella. He's imprinted"
"Imprinted?"
"Well that's where it gets tricky"
Jacob went on to tell me all about what had happened to him recently, about all the changes in the pack, about Sam and Leah, about Quil and Claire. I was fascinated by the stories but also sad to hear about all the hardships Jake had been battling having. I felt selfish for assuming our relationship-or lack thereof- had been his biggest struggle when it was just the icing on the cake. I wish I could have been there to console him through it all. To hold him close to my heart. Mindlessly run my fingers through his hair while he vented his concerns but I knew he had been battling it alone. He had no secrets from anyone, which made it all the more difficult, I was glad he didn't hesitate to confide in me now. We both instinctively walked to our log on the beach without a thought or a word about it. We sat down and Jacob wrapped up his story
"Okay, are you ready Bella? Have we gotten all the frivolous things out of the way?" I knew he was only teasing, but I deserved the jab
"Let's start with last night" I began.
"Sounds like a good place to start"
"Okay here goes…but before I start I need you to hear me out, be patient with me. I'm being 100% honest here, no sensors so promise me you won't jump to conclusions or anything because…well…honestly, I have no conclusions, that's why I'm here. You're my best friend and you can get me through anything"
"Kay Bella you're starting to scare me..but I'm in"
"Well, I'll get into it then. Last night…I had a dream about you" Jacob's eyes widened in delight "A dream that you were in love with another girl, and it upset me, and it caught me off guard."
"Bells I would nev…" his face turned concerned
"Shhh, I know." I continued " The dream bothered me because I always hoped you'd meet someone and finally be as happy as I was and we could go back to being friends. But it made me realize I don't think I could handle that...if you found someone else. The idea of you with another girl was infuriating, even if it was just a dream. Then when I woke up and Edward was lying with me."
Jacobs face suddenly looked pained like I just stabbed in right in the heart, I forced onwards
"It upset me, something I never thought could happen. He eventually left and I got to thinking. I knew I needed to talk to you and in formulating a plan to see you, I realized what a tight leash I was on. I felt trapped and it irritated me. I was desperate and something... some force made me go outside that night, I don't know what it was but I knew it would lead to you. Then you came to me, and everything you said was so right. Every word of it- I knew it even if I argued" I paused
"I never thought I see the day" jake injected
"What day?" I was expecting him to bring up my feelings towards Edward.
"The day you admit that I'm right and your wrong" He suppressed a smirk.
I gave him a look and punched him playfully in the arm. He knew how to break the tension and ease my difficult confession.
"After you left I had another dream about us, the other girl wasn't there, and the dream was uneventful, but we were in love, we were together and there was no Edward not then, not ever and the way I felt in that dream… it was indescribable. I was so joyous in that fleeting moment. When I woke up I knew I needed to talk to you again …see you again, there was so much I needed to tell you and talk to you about. That morning when Edward picked me up, I thought the usual thing would happen"
"oh good lord Bella please stop" Jake cringed
"No! Not like that Jake. I mean I would see Edward and all doubt would dissipate and I would come to my senses, but the opposite happened, it was like some switch went off and I was suddenly able to see past his beauty and acknowledge the things about him that bothered me. I observed him the whole day and certain things became clear, for example, he considers his life to be this huge burden and hardship. He's self-deprecating and I am not oblivious to the fact that being a vampire has its definite downfalls but he has these wonderful gifts and instead of putting them to good use like Carlisle he chooses to live his life in sorrow and hatred. He hates himself, Jacob. He truly hates himself and I can't stand it I can't stand that he doesn't understand why I love him. He has just as much control as Carlisle and he is just as intelligent if not more so. He can read minds he's insanely fast and strong, he's kind and reasonable he has immeasurable wealth and yet he sits through grades 10-12 over and over again…it seems so absurd! Sorry I am getting off track."
"It's okay, take as long as you need, I'll be listening." It was true I could tell he was seriously contemplating every word coming out of my mouth. He wasn't anxious, he wasn't interrupting me. He was just listening. It was exactly what I needed.
"Well after I had spent a morning reevaluating every thought I had ever had about Edward It was lunch, and I went to the table alone, and everyone was so weirded out I had not sat down with Edward. It upset me to realize that I spent every possible moment hanging off him since he returned. I didn't want to be that girl who was only one half of a couple. I'm Bella dammit! I used to be so independent and now it's strange for me to be by myself? That's not who I am and it pains me to remember the person I let myself become when Edward was away. I don't ever want to be that dependent on a person…ever. I am a strong person and shame on me for letting myself be that attached, that vulnerable, it's unhealthy! Anyways everyone was telling me about their trip to La Push and it was horrid to sit back and listen, knowing I could have been there and Edward hadn't let me, listening to Jessica go on about how cute you were and how you had such a good time together."
"Jessica?...Really? She's not my type Bella you should have known better than to believe her. I don't think she shut up about herself once and she asked for me specifically no doubt to make you jealous"
I laughed, "You have no idea how little that surprises me"
"I don't blame you for driving down here all the time if that's the crew you have to hang out with when you're in Forks, In fact, I don't blame you for choosing a family of vampires over them!"
I laughed again "They're not so bad …some of them that is…Jessica's the worst of it." I shook my head "Sorry am I boring you? I had no idea I had this much to say. It's just all sort of spilling out, it's so nice to have someone to talk to about all this, someone who understands."
"I know the feeling," Jake said gloomily, but he perked up before he continued."Bella, I will sit here on this log for a week if that's what it takes."
"I hardly think that will be the case. But I'm almost done, and I want to hear what you have to say after…100% honest. No sensors."
"Wolf's honor" he crossed his heart and smiled at his weak joke.
"Anyways thankfully our lunch was interrupted by Alice, she pulled me away and she said something…fairly significant. She told me my future disappeared." Jacob went pale
"Wait. What? Why? Is something going to happen to you? NO! They change right? Her visions?"
"Sh sh sh No Jake no" I grabbed both his hands "I'm fine...remember when I jumped off the cliff and Alice didn't see you pull me out of the water?
"Yeah cause she can't see us" He looked at me blankly for a second and then I saw the recognition set in. His face was suddenly ecstatic, I'd seen versions of this face before, but never so wonderful. His grip around my hands tightened his breathing grew heavier. "What are you saying, Bella?"
"I don't know Jake, I don't know exactly but I hadn't made any decisions yet so It surprised me that my whole future had been affected."
"You told me not to jump to conclusions so I'm not going to and I've learned my lesson the hard way in the past. But what should I take this to mean?"
"I think it means we have a lot to talk about" Jake shook his head and put his heads in his hands for a moment then looked up at me.
"Are you telling me you are seriously actually considering this? Us?"