Spiralling

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

It was beautiful. Of course, it was. Who wouldn't be inspired by so much green? If you listened carefully, you could almost hear the trees growing. And there were lots and lots of trees. Their trunks were covered with spongey moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it. Even more green covered the ground, proud ferns, their leaves rustling in the gentle breeze. Bella itched to draw the panoramic view that surrounded her on all sides. But her sketch pad was locked safely in the trunk of her father's cruiser, along with the rest of her meagre luggage. She breathed out a regretful sigh.

"Are you okay, Bells." Charlie Swan, concentrating on the road ahead, asked in concern.

"I'm fine, Dad." Bella conjured up one of her best fake smiles.

Charlie glanced at her knowingly. He wasn't fooled in the slightest. He knew that his only child was deeply upset about being uprooted from her comfortable life in Phoenix. With his ex-wife recently remarrying, and with Bella taking an instant dislike to her new stepfather, it was decided that she would come and live with him in Forks for the foreseeable future. He was delighted of course, but he wished it would have come about under better circumstances. He still needed to get to the bottom of why Bella was so against the new man in her mother's life. It wasn't like her to hold a grudge.

"How's Renee?"

"You know Mom." Bella shrugged, emitting another sigh.

"Yeah, I do." Charlie glanced at her again as his fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter. "And Phil?"

Bella's jaw tightened and she slumped lower in her seat. "Fine." She said bitingly.

"You don't like him?"

Bella shrugged, refusing to answer. She focused her attention back on the stunning scenery outside. "I can see why you never wanted to leave here. You would have hated Phoenix."

Charlie frowned. "It wasn't a question of wanting to stay, Bells. Your mom and I…." He paused, trying to summon the right words. "We just had different outlooks on life. She wanted to travel and see more of the world and I…well…. I had responsibilities."

"I'm sorry, Dad." Bella felt guilt bite at her heart. His parents-her grandparents-had been ailing at the time Renee decided to up sticks with her newborn daughter. Charlie was an only child, he couldn't, wouldn't leave his parents to fend for themselves. They needed him. Bella had never blamed him for the selfish decision her mother had made. She loved Renee, but knew her faults.

"You don't need to apologise, Bells." Charlie smiled at her. "I'm just so happy you're here."

"Dad!" Bella complained good naturedly. She was so used to her father's reserved nature, that it was weird hearing him express his affection aloud. "I'm glad to be here." She conceded, returning his smile with a real one of her own.

"That's good to hear, Bells, because I have a surprise waiting for you at home." Charlie revealed. "I've only gone and bought you a car."

"You've bought me a brand-new car?" Bella exclaimed, sitting up straighter in her seat.

"Bells, please." Charlie laughed. "When was the last time I ever bought anything new?"

"Good point." Some of Bella's excitement faded. "What kind of car is it?"

"Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy. It's built like a tank. Perfect for you. It looks like something from the last century. A bit battered – "

"Dad, you're not exactly selling it to me here." Bella cut in gloomily. She was becoming uneasy about how bad this 'truck' really was. "Where did you find it? Dumped on the side of the road, perhaps?"

"Ha ha!" Charlie grinned. "Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?"

La Push was the tiny Indian reservation on the coast.

"The tall guy with the big smile. I remember." Bella recalled vaguely. "You used to drag me off fishing with him and his annoying son during the holidays." She grimaced, thinking about the little pest who used to get a kick out of yanking her braids and scaring her with slimy worms.

"Ah, you mean Jacob."

"Is that his name?" Bella feigned ignorance. "I don't remember."

She did.

"You should see him now. He's so darn tall. You'd get a crick in your neck just looking up at him." Charlie rambled. "He's a good kid, though. Looks after Billy like a pro."

Bella looked at him questioningly.

"Billy's in a wheelchair now." Charlie continued sadly. "So, he can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap."

"I'm sorry to hear about Billy." Bella put a tentative hand on her father's arm. "That must be hard."

"Yeah, the family have had it tough." This time it was Charlie who sighed.

Bella decided to change the subject before her father could wax maudlin. "So what year is it?"

"You don't know the year?" Charlie quipped. "Did you hit your head or something, kiddo?"

"Oh, you are so hilarious." Bella groaned. "Did you eat a clown for breakfast this morning? I was talking about the truck as you very well know."

"Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine-its only a few years old, really." Charlie hedged.

"When did he buy it?" Bella demanded, her suspicions rising.

Charlie winced. "He bought it in…um…. oh, let me see….um….in 1984 I'd guess. As a rough estimate."

"1984! You have got to be kidding me!" Bella scowled. "And was it new then?"

"Well, no, I think it was new in the early sixties-or late fifties at the earliest. You'll just love it when you see it. I'm sure of it." Charlie flashed her a hopeful smile.

Bella didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Any vehicle old enough to be a classic was going to burn through money to keep on the road. She was beginning to wonder if Charlie had bought the old wreck out of some solidarity to his old friend. He wasn't that naïve.

"Dad, I don't know a thing about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I couldn't afford a mechanic…"

"The old girl runs just great. They don't build them like that anymore. And Jacob gave it a complete overhaul."

"Jacob did?" Bella said suspiciously. She once again cast her mind back to the precocious little annoyance who used to insist on calling her Belly as a kid because he had difficulty pronouncing her name. That was when he wasn't tormenting her by tugging on her braids to get her attention, or trying to feed her mud pies. "I should definitely be worried then."

"What do you mean?" Charlie was confused. "Jacob is a skilled mechanic. Self-taught, too."

"Alright!" Bella rolled her eyes before her father had a chance to praise her childhood nemesis any further. "I get the picture. Jacob Black is a swell guy! Blah, blah, blah…."

Charlie supressed a smile. "Well, he is. And I'm sure you will think so too when you see him again."

"Not anytime soon I hope." Bella grumbled as she folded her arms across her chest.

"About that…" Charlie hesitated.

Bella glared at him suspiciously. He didn't have a chance to answer as they had reached their destination. He still lived in the small, two-bedroom house that he'd bought with Renee in the early days of their marriage. There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed-was her new-well, new to her, truck. It was a faded red colour, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. Bella was speechless. She looked at her father, then back to the truck. She loved it.

Charlie gave her a 'I told you so' grin. "Go on, take a look!"

"Thanks, Dad!" Bella cried, throwing her arms around his neck. "I love it already."

"Calm down, kiddo." Charlie huffed, patting her awkwardly on the back.

"You know deep down you're a softy." Bella complimented him. "Not such a skinflint after all."

"Skinflint!" Charlie said, affronted. "I am not mean with money!"

But Bella barely heard him. She was out of the cruiser and running toward the old Chevy. She could definitely see herself in it. Plus, it was one of those old iron affairs that never gets damaged, the kind you see at the scene of an accident, paint unscratched, surrounded by pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed. She would certainly take out a few cars in her new school with this beast. Bella's brown eyes gleamed with triumph, her imagination running rife. She again felt the familiar itch to draw her new mode of transportation in all its glory. She must dig out her sketchbook…

Bella was so distracted she didn't notice as the truck's door swung open in front of her. She collided with it hard, the wind totally knocked out of her, as she fell on her ass.

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry." A husky voice said, as a shadow fell across her.

Bella was beyond speech. She looked up and up, her mouth opening in disbelief as she stared at the tall youth gazing down at her in concern. If it wasn't for his dark brown eyes, she would have hardly recognised him as the irritating nemesis from her younger days. Jacob Black was tall, just like Charlie had described. But he wasn't just tall, he was a giant, a muscular giant. He'd passed that point where the soft muscles of childhood hardened into the solid, lanky build of a teenager, the tendons and veins prominent under the red brown skin of his arms, his hands. He held out one of those hands to her now.

"Hey, Belly. Long time, no see."

A/N-thanks for reading!