Did you guys enjoy that chapter? I just thought it would be fun to see what Jacob does in his daily time. You know, he's busy with patrolling all the time… and they always have issues with keeping their own thoughts to themselves. The bantering, the bickering… You know. But yes, so Jacob is going to hide from Bella that the Cullens are back in town! Interesting? Yes? No? Leave your comments on this new chapter about it! (:
Thank you to TwilightCringe, DeannaN, and Guest for reviewing the last chapter! (:
I am not Stephenie Meyer. All characters and rights to the Twilight Saga go to her.
Chapter 45: Soccer
The rabbit didn't pick up a lot of speed, but it definitely was fast enough to break the speed limit of the road that he was flooring down on. I kept looking over at him. Holding my knees to my chest; trying to hold the ends of the dress behind my thighs. Only a scowl appeared on his face. His eyebrows were furrowed together, creating a v-pattern on his forehead. His lips were pursed together, and his hands were firmly clutched against the steering wheel. He didn't speak to me. He wouldn't answer my questions. He continued to stay silent, speaking gibberish to himself and grunting in his throat.
It didn't take long for him to pull up to my house. He didn't park the car when we arrived. He held his foot against the brake, waiting on me to get out of the car. I kept looking over at him, gawking at his facial expression that wouldn't glance at me.
"Jacob, I—I'm sorry I stayed the night over there," I said, still trying to detect any change in his facial expression. It stayed the same. "I didn't have a ride…" But he continued to be mute with an unfavorable expression. I looked at him again, sighing. "Do you still want me to hangout with you today?" I asked, shyly. I tilted my head down, and looked up at him, trying to bat my eyelids softly to get his attention.
He moved his head now, turning it towards me. He looked at me, but his facial expression, again, did not change. Instead he just nodded at me and unlocked the doors of the car. I let out another heavy sigh. "Okay, I'll see you in a little while." I opened the car door and climbed out and quickly treaded to my front door to unlock it and walked inside. Jacob immediately sped off after I shut the door behind me. I could see his hands firmly pressed against the steering wheel as he continued to grip onto it harder before he sped off.
"Hey, kiddo," Charlie said, looking at me with the newspaper in his hand. "That's a nice dress. You wore that to Jessica's house?"
I immediately panicked in my head at the million scenarios that I could come up with. "Yeah, we went out last night. She said we all had to dress up." I lied casually the best that I could. Again, I didn't like to lie to Charlie, but I also didn't want to be that person who gets someone in trouble.
Charlie raised his eyebrow. "Where did you go out?" He asked me, putting the paper on the counter.
"We got dinner at a restaurant in Port Angeles… it was karaoke night." I stood still; worry swept across my face. What a dumb thing to say. Karaoke night? I wouldn't dare go to one of those. He knows that but I hoped he would be too naive to catch that.
"Well, I wish you would have told me about your plans."
"It was a last-minute thing." I replied. "I'm going to go upstairs to shower and change."
I got out of the shower and combed the tangles out of my hair that the conditioner couldn't release. I felt bad. I shouldn't have stayed the night there. I should've called Angela to turn around and pick me up instead of staying the night, especially in Edward's room when it was very clear that there were other bedrooms available that I could have stayed in. But I chose Edward's room. That had to be what was upsetting him. But then again, how would he know which room was Edwards? I suppose the single vampire of the bunch wouldn't have a bed, so it was obvious whose room it was. But in fact, it didn't look exactly like a bedroom in the first place. More like a room to listen to music.
I'm making excuses. Trying to break down an idea in my head that was meaningless. He was upset with me for staying the night at the Cullen house. Plain and simple. I suppose I too wouldn't be comfortable with that idea if the tables were turned. It was my fault. I was inconsiderate. Going to that party in the first place was inconsiderate of me. Not that the Cullens were there in any way, but it was entirely my fault.
I wasn't sure how the rest of the day would go. I wasn't sure if our plans today would be interrupted by his mood towards me. I couldn't ask for a more adequate day, though. He's allowed to feel the way that he does towards me right now. I can't invalidate his feelings just because I want the day to go smoothly. I suppose the only way that I would be able to resolve this quandary is to go and see him. It's still early in the morning and with the lack of sleep I had succumbed to last night had left me fatigued. I grabbed sweatpants and a t-shirt and decided to lie down in my bed, setting a time on my alarm clock to wake me up in a few hours.
I grabbed a pair of old jeans that I had along with my thin purple long sleeve sweater. I didn't know what the plans were today, but the air was slightly chilly, especially for April. But it was Forks, so it was to be expected. I ran into the bathroom to put on some deodorant and brush my hair out. Falling asleep in wet hair causes a lot of tangles. I was too tired to towel dry it before my nap.
Someone had knocked on the door downstairs. I guessed it was Jacob picking me up, but I don't remember having any plans for him to do that. I assumed I would be driving my truck down there to avoid an awkward car conversation that we would have from this morning. I didn't want that though. I didn't want to have an awkward day with Jacob. I wanted it to be normal.
I ran downstairs, still pulling the tangles out of my hair. Charlie didn't get the door so he must have left to go somewhere. He didn't tell me he had any fishing plans today, so it was possible he was called in for work.
"Oh," I said, opening the door. It wasn't Jacob. If anything would make me feel uncomfortable right now, it would be Mike.
"Hey… Bella…" He said, shyly looking past me into my kitchen instead directly to my face. It was clear he didn't have any concerns to make eye contact with me today.
"Hey," I replied with a sigh. "I'm about to leave right now."
"Oh, yeah... Can I come in?"
"No. No you cannot." I replied sternly, crossing my arms. I did not forget what he tried pushing me to do last night. "You can leave, though. I have to get going." I turned around, leaving the door open to grab my keys off the hook and setting the hairbrush down on the counter.
"Please, I just want to apologize." He said, still not looking at me, but instead looking down towards the floor. I didn't care for an apology from him. I didn't care for what his intentions were last night, nor did I care to reminisce on them. I only cared about leaving this house and making amends with Jacob.
I walked closer to him, gesturing for him to walk backwards away from the doorway. I walked out after him, closing it behind me— locking it. "You can talk until I get to my car." I said to him. I twirled the keys around on my finger, walking at a normal pace towards the front of the lawn.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the way that I acted." Mike said, speaking his words at a fast rate, trying to finish his apology before I made it to my truck. "I was drunk. And I got too handsy with you. I feel really terrible, Bella."
I wished he would trip on one of the tree roots and hit his head so he couldn't talk anymore.
"Bella, wait," he said to me as soon as I got to my truck door— opening it. "Please… please forgive me."
"Where did you even go?" I said, holding onto my door frame, pausing. I had remembered that he completely disappeared after the occurrence had happened.
"Some dude— uh, pushed me out the door. Made me walk home." He said, rubbing his hand on his shoulder; trying to roll it in a circle. That was the area on his body that the brunette curly haired man had grabbed him.
I paused. I wondered if Mike would have recognized him. But asking him that question would continue this conversation longer than I had wanted. I didn't want this conversation to have happened at all in the first place.
I nodded at him, pulling my mouth to the side of my face and pursing my lips together. "Okay," I replied.
"Okay?" Mike asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "Okay, that you forgive me?"
"Sure, whatever." I replied with a nod; climbing into the seat of my truck and slamming the door behind me. Mike looked up at me, first in shock, but then a slight grin appeared on his face. I didn't care to show that what he had done bothered me. If he believed that I hadn't forgiven him he probably would have continued to follow me around at school constantly trying to apologize. I'll give him credit, though. He did come to my house to apologize in person instead of at school in front of people. That wouldn't be something I could forgive him for.
I drove off, leaving him on my front lawn. I headed towards the reservation, which I had been expecting to do with my day instead of having to listen to Mike.
I continued to drive down the road, passing through the line of trees that hung over it until I began passing by the small and larger houses until I made it to Jacob's house. I hopped out of my truck and slammed the creaky door and headed in. Billy had greeted me at the already opened door with a smile as he rolled his wheelchair away from the entrance for me to walk in.
"You're here early, Jacob is still asleep," Billy mentioned.
"Oh, is he? Hmm," I said; sighing.
"You're welcome to wait for him if you like. I'm just watching something on the old box."
"Yeah," I chuckled, trying to sound friendlier than I felt right now from my irritation. Billy and I both were quiet for a moment in awkward silence while we both sat in the small living room. He sat there in his chair continuing to smile at me as I sat on his couch with my lips lined against my face nodding at him and sliding the toe of my shoe across the floor. Billy and I never were alone together before, really. I usually have Charlie or Jacob here with me, but I did not know how to continue a conversation with him. "So, you and Charlie aren't fishing today? It's Sunday."
"No, not today, he got called in for work," Billy said to me. I had already assumed that's where he had gone off to.
"Oh, well bummer. What do you plan on doing today?"
"I take it day by day, Bella. I don't need a lot going on at this age. I can enjoy myself in this living room watching whatever is on the tv if I have to."
"Well, me and Jacob can—"
"Don't you worry about me, I promise. I heard you guys have plans today. Why don't you instead whip me and yourself up some late breakfast," He said chuckling at me, rolling his wheelchair into the kitchen. I was a tad bit hungry. I didn't make anything before I came here, disregarding my appetite as I was going to instead wait till lunch to eat something. I supposed that Jacob and I would be on our way with whatever plans he had made for us today, but this would be nice instead— to be able to do something for Billy like Jacob had to do for him.
"Yeah, sounds great. Maybe I can make pancakes or something so that Jacob can have some too when he wakes up."
"I don't know if we have enough batter to feed that boy," He replied, laughing as he opened the pantry and pulling out a box of pancake mix. He handed it to me, and I went into his fridge to pull out some eggs and milk and continued to mix the ingredients into a mixing bowl. "So, Bella, you're graduating soon?" Great, he was going to ask about my plans. Something that I didn't particularly care to speak of any more than I already had.
"Yeah, in June," I replied. "I guess Charlie hasn't mentioned my plans yet?"
"Oh, yes, he has. You know he's very proud of you; making that responsible decision to stay home so you can work towards a scholarship. But I have to ask," He trailed, "are you staying home just to be around Jacob longer?"
"No, of course not, Billy," I gasped. "I just don't have a lot of money. A scholarship would really help, along with some volunteer work on my application for the school I want to go to."
"Charlie did mention you were volunteering at the Forks News Paper," Billy added. "How do you like working for them?
"It's… fine, I guess. Nothing exciting," I heaved out a sigh, leaning towards the stove, pouring more batter on the pan. "I just clean mostly and file." The conversation was feeling repetitive. I've mentioned this plan to many others, and it bothered me a little bit that Billy thought I was staying here for Jake. In other cases, if Edward never left, I probably would have never gone to college in the first place and spent my life with Edward somewhere else away from home, away from my family and friends, away from my Jacob. In a way though, I'm almost content that Edward left, solely based on me being able to develop this relationship I have with Jacob. Even if it did not turn out to be anything romantic, having Jacob as my best friend for eternity would have sufficed.
"Breakfast smells good, Bella. Thank you," Billy said as I set a plate of pancakes down on the table in front of him with some scrambled eggs and orange juice.
"No problem, Billy. Happy to help."
"You've always been helpful; with your dad I mean. Would have had to call CPS on a grown man if he continued his meal habits before you came along."
"Yeah, he was never known to be a Martha Stewart," I added.
One of the doors creaked in the house. I smiled seeing Jacob walk in, partially groggy from waking up. He wasn't clothed in anything except his boxers.
"Oh, Bella…" Jacob said to me, looking confused.
"Hey, I made pancakes," I slightly smiled at him, trying to lighten the tension between us that occurred early this morning. "Sorry, I guess I came early. I thought we said eleven."
"Yeah, we did. I overslept, I guess. Old man made you cook him breakfast?"
"Not like I had my son to do it for me," Billy added, jokingly. "So, Bella are you excited for today?"
"Excited?" I asked.
"It's a surprise," Jacob added. "It's not really anything big; don't worry. We are just going to hang with the pack today."
"Oh," I replied. I thought Jacob and I were going to hangout alone today so we could talk about what had happened. Not that I wanted to talk about it. I wanted nothing more than to avoid an argument with him, but I did want to apologies and allow him to make his peace.
Jacob had finished his plate and got dressed. When he came out from his room, he gestured me to follow him outside which I complied to. We didn't speak, but he seemed less tense than he was this morning. We walked into his garage and he pulled out one of the bikes.
"Oh, we're riding today?" I asked him.
"No, not exactly." He chuckled at me. "We just need it to get somewhere."
He loaded the bike into the bed of my truck, and he climbed into the driver's side, leaving me to sit in the passenger seat. We started heading down a road in the awkward silence that I would have hoped we would avoid. Thoughts seemed to continue to envelope his mind, and it was clear that we weren't going to talk about them. As we drove down further away from the reservation until we were out of the general area and back on the main road, I began to recognize this place from before. He pulled my truck to a stop on the side of the road and hopped out, grabbing his bike out from the truck.
"So, what are we doing?" I asked him, crossing my arms to conserve heat from the chilly air.
"Well, I'm taking you to this very large clearing. You wouldn't believe the size. Bigger than two baseball fields combined. Paul and I had recently mowed it down to cut the grass shorter," he said to me, smiling.
I climbed onto the bike with him before he could speed off the road. We headed through the woods on it, passing through the draping moss and the towering hemlock trees. I already could recognize where we were. Where I've been before. The ride was bumpy, as I had remembered it with the jagged roots in the ground, and the uneven level of the trail.
Jacob finally put the bike to a stop, helping me get off the back of it and leaning it against the tree. I noticed the large clearing. We were in the same clearing in the lap of the Olympic peaks.
"Jake?" I whispered to him, tugging on to his arm. "I thought you don't like to cross Cullen territory."
He looked at me, raising his eyebrow. "Have you been here before?"
"Um, once." I admitted.
"Well," he said, clenching his fist. "If I am being clear, we all have our own territories. But this isn't entirely claimed. It's sort of no man's land."
As we edged towards the clearing, I could see the others all there; Emily, and girl that looked generally young that I didn't recognize leaning against Jared, and Sam sitting on a bare outcropping of rock almost a hundred yards away. Nearby them were the rest of the boys kicking around a soccer ball, pushing each other around. Jacob started to pick up a light jog to get closer to them faster. I tried to follow behind him to keep up with his pace, but I tripped a little bit on the way over there. I guess he was still a little upset with me.
"Bella, you remember Emily, Jared, and Sam." Jacob said to me hand gesturing to each one as he said their names. "And this is Kim— Jared's girlfriend." The young girl gave me a shy wave, turning the ends of her lips up towards me.
"Hi, nice to meet you." I waved back. Sam stood up from the rock and gestured towards me to have a seat on it. I walked over towards the open space and sat next to Jared. "So, you guys are playing soccer? Is that the surprise?"
"Oh, we're playing soccer, alright." Jared replied, in a sarcastic but enthusiastic tone. He stood up from the rock and walked over towards Jacob. "You didn't tell her dude?"
"Thought it would be more fun this way," Jacob replied.
"Ever seen wolves play soccer before?" Jared asked me, jabbing his elbow at Jacob. It surprised me, because no, I hadn't seen that before. I don't believe anyone actually has.
"I saw those show dogs do it on television before," I replied. Emily chuckled at me and leaned over to pat the ball of my knee. I looked over at her, smiling. She was always a kind woman. And I believed she truly is the mastermind of keeping the boys in line.
"Awh, we're just show dogs to you, huh?" Jared asked, laughing. Jacob slightly chuckled at Jared's teasing. I could feel my cheeks burning as I felt embarrassed by my comment.
"Hey, Bella. I brought some blankets if you wanted to have one. I know it's chilly out here." Emily said. She pulled out a red checkered fleece blanket from her bag and held it towards me. I leaned over, grabbing it from her.
"Thank you," I replied to her, grinning. She nodded at me with a side smile and handed Kim one as well that she quietly accepted.
"Well, let's get this started. Emily, you are our outstanding referee this afternoon." Sam said, lifting Emily's hand to his lips, placing a small peck on the top of her hand. She grew bashful and battered her eyelids at him, returning an air kiss.
"Alright, boys." Emily said, letting go of his hand. She crossed her arms with a smug grin on her face. "I don't want to see anyone cheating. You guys know the rules. No biting, no scratching, and no fighting. And especially, no puncturing the ball."
"You're no fun, Em." Embry said to her, flipping the ball back and forth between his hands.
"You guys heard the lady," Sam said with his deep voice that had always surprised me every time I heard it.
"They'll break the rules anyways," Emily winked at me. Kim still hadn't said a word since I had sat down. Not that she was being unfriendly, but it was clear she was definitely shy. She held her head cupped in between her hands staring at Jared with a wistful smile. It was cute that they were young and in love. Never having to find another person or suffer from a broken heart. They were matched through the imprint.
Jacob walked over to me, kneeling on one of his knees and placing his hand onto my thigh. "It'll be fun," he said in a low voice. "If you get bored, you and I can go back to the rez. But I promise you that I think you will like it." He grinned, leaning forward to my face, placing a small peck onto my lips. I couldn't tell if he was still in a bad mood or not, still. Or if he was trying to pretend what happened earlier had never happened in the first place.
Jacob stood up and the pack followed each other farther out into the clearing, leaving the ball behind with Emily. They were siding on teams and who would be a part of which team. Likely enough, Sam had chosen Paul and Embry on his, while Jacob chose Jared, Quil and Seth on his team. There were uneven numbers considering that Leah apparently wasn't joining us today, but I guess Seth is still young and small, that they did not care.
Emily walked towards the middle while the wolves took their positions on the field.
"Heads?" Sam nodded at Emily while Jacob rolled his eyes at him. She looked down, returning a flattered smile at him and nodded. She flipped the coin in the air and slapped it onto her forearm. "Tails, sorry honey." She placed the ball in the center of the field, walking back over towards us, while Sam kicked it towards himself, passing it back in between his legs. Seth jogged over to him, trying to put his foot in between, but Sam had kicked the ball into the air, head butting it towards Embry who chest tapped it back onto the ground and began kicking it towards the goal.
Paul was blocking Jacob from going after the ball, following each turn that Jacob tried to take to get past him.
"I thought they were supposed to be playing as…" I said, looking over at Emily.
"Wolves?" She replied, finishing my sentence with a chuckle. "Don't worry. It'll get to that point."
"Oh… Have you watched them play before?"
"Play? No, not really. The last time they tried, it just turned into a war. The game didn't even last three minutes. But now that Quil joined, along with Seth, we have actual players on the field. Not that there are enough players for the game even now, but for this kind of game? Sure."
"Why isn't Leah here?" I asked. Directing my glance over at Quil running towards Embry, kicking the ball that was claimed by Embry from in between his feet and catching him by surprise. Quil darted around Embry, took foot on the ball that he had swiped from him, and began running towards the other side of the field, kicking it diagonally as he enhanced forward.
"She doesn't like to entertain them," She replied. She pressed her lips together pushing them to the side of her face.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, curiously.
"She's not exactly thrilled to be a part of an all-boys pack, let alone a pack at all."
"Yeah, I guess if I was forced into something I didn't want to do and had to be around— um." I said, ending my statement before I said anything more. I knew that this was an uncomfortable subject for Emily, for she was the mistress in Leah's eyes. The one who had stolen her boyfriend.
"It's okay. I'm not bothered too much about it anymore. I was at first— still am a tad bit— and I had felt horrible for what I had done to her… but I fell in love." I looked over at her, noticing she had paused her sentence. Emily wasn't watching the game anymore and instead had her stare directly at me. "Please, don't believe I'm the villain in this story. It took me a long time to forgive myself for what I had done to my cousin. But I love him. I truly do. It took a lot of restraint for me to keep his advances from me, but when someone is that persistent…"
"I know what you mean," I said looking at her, lowering the corners of my mouth. I had fallen into the same situation. Not directly. Jacob hadn't imprinted on me and I hadn't stolen him from someone, but he was persistent. He was persistent about being there for me when I was broken. He continued to stride towards putting the pieces of myself back together. He continued to keep his promise of being there for me, and being my friend, which had turned into my boyfriend. Jacob was my Sam to his Emily. Persistence is hard to say no to. Especially after you had started to begin to love that person more than in just a family way.
Emily nodded at me, giving away a small smile as she looked down at the ground. "So, do you love him?"
I paused at her question, unable to expel air from my lung. I noticed my pause was beginning to seem transparent, so I nodded at her as immediate as I could.
"He loves you, too. I'm sure you know that, already," Emily continued. Kim, who I had forgotten was sitting in between us, now looked up at me, taking her glances away from the game, as well. She featured a quiet smile across her face and leaned her hand over towards my upper arm, grazing it. I guess this was her way of trying to comfort me. I accepted it, knowing she was a kind girl. Just a tad shy.
Immediate growls erupted from the field, causing us to escape each other's eyes, and directly look towards the pack. Jacob was now in his wolf form, leaping over Paul who was ducked underneath him, shielding the back of his head with the palms of his hands.
"Paul must have really pissed him off," Emily said with an amused expression across her face.
Paul's clothes were splintering the air as they tore from his body, revealing the fur that was draping over his skin in just seconds. His body contorted as it coiled backwards with his jaws heading towards Jacob's hind leg, and instead turned his head upwards towards Jacob's tail, and latched onto it. A piercing yelp escaped Jacob's throat, as he was being dragged in the air by Paul who had then slammed him onto the ground. Jacob's large teeth were noticeable from where we were sitting, snapping at him as Paul was towering over him.
"Hey hey, hey! Foul play! I said no biting!" Emily stood up immediately, clapping her hands together to get their attention. Kim had her hands clasped over her mouth. Her eyes bulged looking at the immediate scene that we both had not expected.
Sam now had conjured himself into his wolf form, pushing Paul off of Jacob with his head in a swift move. Paul slid back, hunching his body forward, with his rear in the air, standing his ground. His teeth were exposed towards Sam who did not seem bothered by it. Sam let out a huff at him, causing Paul's fur to blow back behind his ears. Sam shook his head at him and looked over at Jacob who had gotten off the ground, shaking off the grass clippings that were embedded into his fur. Sam turned around back towards the others who had paused the game to watch what had played out.
Jared then looked directly at Seth who had the ball at his feet. Holding his foot on top of it. He nudged at him, trying to kick the ball from underneath his foot, and elbowed Seth to the ground.
"Hey! Not fair, dude! We're on the same team!" Seth said, pushing himself back up.
"Yeah? Well stop ball hogging then," Jared laughed, kicking it in between the insides of his feet. I heard a small giggle erupt from Kim's throat that had immediately discontinued.
Jacob nudged Paul who had let out a coughing sound from his throat which I had guessed was a laugh coming from a wolf. They walked back towards the middle of the field together and regrouped. I suppose that they were discussing the score of the game and deciding who had the ball before the game had paused. I noticed looking back and forth at Paul and Jacob as growls continued to erupt from his throat.
"So, are they going to all play as wolves now?" Kim excitedly asked Emily.
"I doubt that Sam, Paul and Jacob would want to risk another pair of clothes," Emily replied. Kim looked back over towards the group with an approving expression.
It was in a breathless moment when they growl started erupting from their chests with their body contorting in an inhuman way with their spine looking as if it had bent, and their necks snapping around. Sam's wolf form towered over the others. Seth was much smaller than the rest of the pack. Not by too much, but the size difference was noticeable. Judging from this distance, he more than likely was about my height. Jared had his tongue out, waving it around looking like a puppy trying to make a baby laugh. It did in fact make Kim laugh, as she giggled rocking back and forth on her seat, her hands grasped against her cheeks. He quickly fell back into his competitive stance when the pack each huffed at each other. Sam had lightly grabbed onto the soccer ball and walked it over towards Seth who was the last one to have it after Quil had stolen it from Embry.
"I thought you were the referee," I said to Emily.
"Yeah, well," She shrugged. "I'll let them settle it. I wasn't paying too close of attention to the last part of the game to have been able to decide that."
The game continued, but Seth was wobbling on the field trying to figure out which leg to kick the ball within his wolf form. It was an easy opening for Paul to come through and snatch it from him, pushing full force of his body against Seth's, plummeting him to the ground. Seth let out a high pitched yelp that made it sound as if he was hurt as Paul took the ball, running with it until Jacob had butted into him, blocking him from the way towards the end of the field, dominating him with his weight against Paul.
The game had started turning into anything other than soccer whereas Embry and Quil were now on top of each other, tackling one another. Not in an unfriendly way. I suppose they were more just bored with the game and wanted to entertain themselves while Paul and Jacob were battling against each other, keeping each other from getting past one another. Sam was on Seth's tail, running after him with Jared not too far behind. Seth seemed to now have the hang of the game, kicking the ball with his paw farther and farther, allowing him to trail behind it so it gave him enough leverage to kick it farther again.
Kim was wobbling her thighs, probably unsure of the game and the score. Her eyes were straight on target with Jared's wolf form, while Emily's stare was on Sam's. I could see how the imprint had affected them now. It not only seemed to affect the wolves, but the imprints as well. Unless I was just comparing love and the imprint as one thing entirely and that this was normal behavior to be so engrossed on their partner the entire time.
Paul eventually had broken through Jacob, pushing him aside onto the ground and then bolting as Sam had now taken the ball from Seth. Paul had then run past Jacob again who was straggling himself on the ground to get back up to run after Paul who was waiting for Sam to kick it to him to make a score on the other side of the field.
Jared had finally caught up to Sam, dashing into him to grab the ball from him. Snarls erupted from the pack. I hadn't noticed why. A pile of wolves were trampled on top of each other at this point. Growls, sounds of tearing and shredding, and more than so, small yelps.
"Hey! HEY! Stop that, stop that right now!" Emily shouted, waving her arms in the air coming towards them.
"Emily! Get back here, now!" I yelled at her. Her walking too close towards the wolves had caused me to panic, I didn't know how they would react while they were in this frenzied with each other. Or how they would perceive her while they were in this state of competitive mode while in this wolf form.
Feet began to trample behind me, coming closer before I could perceive what they were, until they no longer were. I turned around to look but a light color figure had flown above me.
Kim looked up, gasping at it, until it had landed onto the ground, galloping over towards the pack. The wolf, who was Leah, was ripping at the wolf's scruffs on the back of their necks, tearing them off of each other. Slinging them each one by one yards away from the abandoned pile until she had finally made it to Seth.
That's where the yelps were coming from. Poor Seth was on the bottom of the pile.
Growls and snaps that were coming from Leah seemed to be a sign of fear, and aggression, but anger as well as she looked at each wolf, snapping at them as they investigated her direction. A soft whine came from her throat as she now darted her look towards Seth, who continued to let out soft yelps from his throat.
"Oh my god, is he okay?" I asked. Seth was so much smaller compared to the group. Having them all piled up on each other caused panic amongst the rest of the pack, including us humans.
Leah then shifted out of her wolf form. Seeing the fur retract back into her skin, while it contorted into a smaller frame that was her nude body. Her bronze skin had listened under the sun, radiating heat from her skin as anger raged through her face.
"You goddamn idiots! You see what you've done?"
"Leah, I'm so sorry. We will take him back," Sam said, now in his human form. Leah leaned down onto her knees, running her hand over Seth's body, examining for anything possibly out of the ordinary.
"You dipshits are lucky he doesn't have any broken bones. Why the hell would you guys even play this game in your wolf forms?" She shouted at the others, each with individual glances. "You never are able to control your damn selves! And you! Miss referee" Leah stood up, looking over at Emily, pointing a finger at her. "You didn't think to call fouls when shit started hitting the fan? What kind of fucking referee are you?"
"Leah, I— I'm sorry. I'm only human." Emily said, stuttering her words as jogged over towards Sam, still looking at Leah's direction. "I didn't know what to do."
"No, apparently not," Leah hissed at her.
I looked over at Jacob who was now looking at me. His head tilted to the side, as if he was trying to see if I was okay. I was fine obviously. I wasn't the one in the pile, nor was I even touched. I was on the side lines the whole time. He got up, walking over towards me.
"And you, fucking Black! He was on your team. And you let this happen to him?" Jacob bowed his head down, forcing his ears behind him as he looked to be in pain from her words. "Trying to show off for that leech lover of yours. You aren't going to care about her once you imprint." Leah looked over at my direction, now walking over towards me. "You know that right? He's just going to leave you and break your heart. You're wasting his time, and he's wasting yours. If he wasn't trying to impress you all the time, Seth wouldn't be hurt right now!"
"Leah, that's enough!" Sam said, shouting at her.
"No, I'm completely right. We've all thought the same thing." Jacob was now shifted back into his human form, as well. He walked over towards me, shielding me from Leah's tantrum. I hadn't seen Jacob unclothed before. He had always shifted in the woods away from me. I tried to be respectful and kept my gaze away from the lower half of his body, only presenting my eyes onto his chest and then back at Leah.
Had they all thought of our relationship that way? That we were doomed to not be together before our relationship started. I knew the imprint was a possibility, and I knew it could happen one day, but I didn't think they all had thought our relationship was a waste of time.
"She's not the one you're mad at. You're mad at us. Stop bringing your drama into everything and go home, Leah. We will get Seth home," Jake returned the anger towards her.
"No, I don't need anyone to get me home," Seth said. I hadn't noticed already that he had transformed back into his human form, clasping his hand against his shoulder. "We just got a little rough. Leah, shut up and go home. You didn't want to be here." He didn't look at Leah, shielding his eyes from her nude body. We all were.
I pulled onto Jacob's shoulder, signaling him to look at me. He shrugged me off at first, and I could feel his body trembling. I knew in this situation that his hormones were taking over. I didn't know if he was still angry at me, or at Leah at this moment.
I trailed my finger down his forearm, squeezing it lightly, trying to calm him down to let him know that I am here. I wasn't sure if that was going to help, if me being here trying to relax him would help in any possible way. But he turned his head, looking at me.
"Can we go?" I whispered to him. He paused, staring directly into my eyes. I could see his fist unclenching that I hadn't noticed were clenched before. He let out a quiet sigh, nodding his head at me, and then turning to me. I respectfully continued to look up at him. Not trying to stare down.
"Got a change of clothes for me?" He whispered back, looking down on me and taking my hands into his. I gasped in a breath of air. Hearing the others continue to bicker behind Jacob.
"I could ride you…" I said, softly back to him.
"One wolf coming up," Jacob chuckled at me, walking towards the tree line outlining the field. I looked at him, not respecting his bareness anymore. As he walked away, his round, slightly lighter than his upper half behind moved when he walked. The muscles that ran through it pulsed at each stride he took. He stopped in his tracks. I could feel my face heating up, but I froze. He slowly peaked behind him, and I could see the corners of his mouth turn up. I reverted my eyes, looking back at Emily who was leaning against Sam while Leah continued to rant at them. I didn't want to get in the middle of any business, but I could see a small tear roll down Emily's face.
Jacob strode back over towards me, grunting. I smiled at him as he kneeled towards the ground, signaling me to climb on top of him which I had complied to. I leaned my face against his neck, holding my fingers against the scruff. He stood back up and started to walk at a normal pace into the tree line.
"So, what about the bikes? Or, my truck?" I said to him. He replied with a grunt. "I have an old towel in the truck, too…. That you can use…" He huffed and started to trot across the wide field back towards the bike.
We both got back to his house, leaving the rest of the pack behind. I waited for Jacob outside while he went inside to get changed into normal clothes and out of the towel from my truck. His body was so chiseled especially in the places I've never looked upon before. I could feel my hands getting sweaty at the thought of it. I felt uncomfortable feeling that way about Jacob, especially during an innocent place around his friends. Especially when just standing outside of his house. Imagining the clothes draping over the unclothed body.
"Okay, ready," Jacob said, closing the front door of the house behind him. "Want to walk on the beach?"
"Sure," I said, coughing after my words and fanning my face.
"Oh, are you hot?" He asked me, wiping a drip of sweat that was perspiring on my forehead. "It's only supposed to be sixty-five degrees today."
"No, no I'm fine," I said, softly looking towards the ground. We continued walking forward, and he leaned his shoulder down to intertwine his fingers into mine as we looked at the waves crashing. "So, does it hurt?"
Jake looked at me puzzled. "Does what hurt?"
"Your butt," I said, shoving my shoulder lightly against his arm.
"Why would my butt hurt?" He laughed at my question, raising his eyebrow.
"Well, Paul bit your tail."
"Yeah, my tail. Not my ass."
"Yeah, I thought maybe it would be like a phantom limb, or something." I said, chuckling at my ridiculous accusations.
"No, Bella. My ass does not hurt. I'm not a pussy. I can handle getting bit by Paul," he continued his laugh, now lightly shoving into me causing me to lose balance. He pulled onto my hand, straightening me back out.
"I don't like that word. It's derogatory towards women, who in fact have pussies." I said, holding my fingers up with the other hand in air, using air quotes on the word 'pussy'.
"Oh, my apologies. I'm not a pansy. Is that better for you?" He asked, raising the corners of his mouth.
"Flowers are strong too," I said, exhaling a copious amount of air through my throat. "Are we going to talk about it?"
Jacob paused, looking back at the waves crashing against the shore. I looked up at him, seeing him biting his lips and his eyebrows pressed forward towards the middle of his face.
"Not if you don't want to," he said, seizing the enthusiasm from his tone.
"Do you not want to?" I asked, slowing my pace, still clinging my hand into his.
"You stayed at their house because you didn't have a ride. There's not much else to say about it."
"Yeah, but you were clearly upset about it. You wouldn't talk to me."
"I calmed down. It's fine now," He clearly didn't seem fine. His face didn't change. His eyebrows continued to furrow forward, and his replies were slow.
"Are you sure? I can apologize for it some more. Maybe I could throw myself off the cliff again to show you how bad I feel about upsetting you." Jacob tightened his grip on his hand, halting his movements to a stop. His firm tugged me, pulling me with him.
"Never do that again, Bella." He commanded me.
"Lighten up. I won't. Not unless you do it with me," I said, standing in front of him. I placed my hand against his peck. Running my index finger lightly up and down on it. He looked down at my hand, shutting his eyes and exhaling a breath of air through his lungs. I could see his chest caving in and rising as he took in another breath of air.
"After last time? No, I won't let you do that again," His face contorted in pain, but he walked sideways to get past me and continued walking forward with his hands still intertwined into mine. "Are you okay, Bella?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I asked him, confused.
"Leah can be a little over dramatic, not going to lie. She didn't mean what she had said you know."
"She did. It's okay though. She has every right to be upset,"
"The pack doesn't think that way about you. Well, not completely. They don't see us wasting our time, though. They just worry about me hurting you one day, and me being upset for it the way Sam was."
"Wow, I didn't think those boys were so deep," I replied, lightly chuckling.
"They really aren't," He laughed. "But I want you to know, it won't ever happen. I promise."
"You can't promise me that."
"I can if you accept my offer of running away with me," strain was apparent in his voice. Of course, running away with Jacob could decrease those odds, but ruining his life and his future just to ensure that from happening isn't something I could do to him. I loved Jacob, but if we were going to plan our future together, we would do it traditionally. Both of us would finish school and maybe find an apartment together. Meet new people, make new friends, and eventually plan our future more after that. With him being only sixteen and not having finished school yet, it wasn't something we could do right now.
"I wouldn't hate running away with you Jake." I said.
"Wouldn't hate," He scoffed. "Love that."
"No, you didn't let me finish. I wouldn't hate running away with you if it didn't mean that our futures would perish for it. You at least need to get a high school degree before you think about taking off into the big world together."
"I know…" he said, trailing his sentence in defeat.
"Jacob, I love you," I said, looking up at him, shielding my hand over my eyes from the sun.
"I love you, too. I just wish it was enough for you."
"What do you mean?" I asked, stopping our walk, again.
"Never mind," He replied, looking down at our feet. He bit his lips again and turned his head away towards the house letting out a sigh.
"Jacob Black, you cannot say those things and just reply with that," I was frustrated with him. He was upset still, and I knew he was. I was determined to get the answer from him before his agitation could ruin anything further.
"It's nothing, I promise, Bella."
"Great, tell me all about this nothing," I said more directly.
"I just," He looked at me now, squeezing tighter on my hand and grabbing onto my other one, staring into my eyes. "If they came back. Those blood suckers… if they came back... Would I lose you?" The desperation in his question was clear. He stared, his eyebrows turned upwards.
"No. You would never lose me, Jacob." I said, letting go of one of his hands, placing it onto his cheek. He leaned down, letting go of my other hand, and lifted his arms under my armpits, lifting me up in the air and pressing me against his chest as his head laid onto my shoulder. I squealed of laughter at his response. I wrapped my arms around his shoulder as he swung me back and forth.
"Good," He replied, with his voice muffled as his face was pressing into my neck.
I don't want to be pushy, but I won't start updating the chapters until at least 5 people start reviewing each chapter. I feel like I'm losing motivation. I'm excited for the ending of the story, and I'm excited to get there. But not having as much enthusiasm from my readers is kind of breaking me a little bit. I've written at least 125k words into this story so far and the lack of reviews on it are really tearing me down. I know I know, many of you guys read it, and then leave after reading it. I know I have many people who keep themselves updated for each chapter and love it and don't think about leaving reviews, but they really inspire me to keep writing.
So please, leave a review after you finish this chapter! I will give shout outs to each individual, unless you don't want me to!