A/N: This is New Moon and Eclipse from Jacob's perspective. These characters are not mine and all belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is her story and much of her dialogue wrapped in my interpretation of Jacob's narration.
Thanks for reading!
This chapter is dedicated to Needles1990 for giving me permission to work on something other than After Midnight Sun!
Visitor (New Moon)
Bella climbed carefully out of her truck and I got my first real look at her.
Her jeans were too loose and her hair had grown in dark, untouched by the sun. Sharp cheekbones held her white skin taut and her brown eyes appeared sunken above the black circles beneath her eyes. She extended a pale hand to slam the truck door and the movement exposed her thin wrist.
As I strode toward her, I noticed her eyes were red like she'd had a real good cry and not that long ago.
It was hard to see her this way, no longer glowing and pink-cheeked. You could see the hurt in her face and it made me hurt, too. A dull achiness separate from my growing pains.
But still, she was here. Bella Swan. The force of it - realizing just how much I'd missed her - took me by surprise. It was like seeing a long lost friend rather than the girl I'd been hopelessly crushing on for a year.
"Bella!" I shouted. My grin was huge.
I could imagine Billy inside chuckling over my poorly disguised excitement and I wondered if I should have tried to reign it in in front of Bella, but then she smiled back.
It wasn't just a polite thing. Her whole face transformed with that smile. Like the sun peeking out from the clouds. She was happy to see me.
"Hey, Jacob!"
I stopped a few feet away from her, clasping my hands behind my back as I fought the urge to pull her into a hug. She looked like she could use one, but then at the same time she looked so fragile, like the gesture might snap her in half.
The rain pelted her face as she looked up at me with an expression of disbelief. "You grew again!" she accused, sounding impressed.
I laughed, feeling both pleased and self-conscious under her scrutiny. "Six five," I announced, probably sounding a little too puffed up.
"Is it ever going to stop?" She shook her head with an amused turn to her lips. "You're huge."
This was all going straight to my head. No, I did not mind one little bit that Bella, two years older than me and way out of my league, was raving about my size. If Quil or Embry were here, they would probably point out just how much I was over-inflating her words... and probably make a dirty joke or two.
Checking myself, I admitted, "Still a beanpole, though." I grimaced. It was true. "Come inside! You're getting all wet."
I quickly wound my hair into a knot and secured it with a rubber band, trying to make the act look offhand.
Long hair had largely fallen out of fashion with guys my age at school - especially with Sam's little gang rocking short crops - but I didn't really care about that. My mom had always refused to cut it - maybe that's why I preferred it long. Or maybe because short hair just felt too stiff and formal. I felt self-conscious about it at the moment, though. Bella had definitely been eyeing it. You never saw dudes in Forks with anything past their ears.
"Hey, Dad. Look who stopped by," I said, playing like I hadn't already eccentrically announced her arrival to him.
Billy set down his book and wheeled over to us.
"Well, what do you know!" He said, his pretend surprise over done. "It's good to see you, Bella."
They shook hands.
It looked like the small smile on her lips took a lot of effort, like she hadn't used those muscles in a while.
"What brings you out here? Everything okay with Charlie?"
"Yes, absolutely." She paused and then turned to me. "I just wanted to see Jacob - I haven't seen him in forever."
Behind her head, Billy's lip turned up at my massive grin. "Can you stay for dinner?" he asked eagerly. I knew he'd be desperate to keep up whatever this was for Charlie's sake.
"No, I've got to feed Charlie, you know." She shrugged a little.
"I'll call him now," Billy said quickly. "He's always invited."
Bella's eyes widened with panic for for a long second before she smoothed her expression, laughing uncomfortably. "It's not like you'll never see me again. I promise I'll be back again soon - so much you'll get sick of me."
Billy nodded, chuckling as he took the hint. "Okay, maybe next time."
She was probably tired of Charlie since she didn't get out much anymore. I loved Charlie, but I could imagine it would get old living with him.
Knowing this visit was a big deal - and wanting to see her promise to return realized - I felt a burden to make it worth it.
"So, Bella, what do you want to do?"
"Whatever." She shook her head with nonchalance. "What were you doing before I interrupted?"
I hesitated. Unless she'd gotten into cars in the last year, I knew they weren't her thing. "I was just heading out to work on my car, but we can do something else..."
"No, that's perfect!" she interrupted, her voice climbing in pitch. "I'd love to see your car."
Yeah, she was definitely a little too excited about it for me to believe her. But it was still really sweet that she acted interested.
"Okay," I said doubtfully. "It's out back, in the garage."
Her eyes brightened at that. She started for the door before I'd even taken a step. "See you later," she said, waving at Billy.
I made the mistake of looking back at him. He was smirking again.
I caught up to Bella quickly, leading her through the little grove of trees concealing the garage. Butterflies swirled up in my stomach as I walked beside her - we'd never been quite this alone together. Out of sight of everyone.
Her face was empty as we walked and I wondered how much the warmth she'd projected earlier had drained her.
"What kind of Volkswagen is that?" she asked, peering at the emblem on the grille as we cleared the last of the trees.
"It's an old Rabbit." I couldn't contain my excitement. "1986, a classic."
She wasn't bothered by my enthusiasm. It seemed to rub off on her a little. "How's it going?"
"Almost finished," I bragged. More quietly, I confessed, "My dad made good on his promise last spring."
"Ah." A spasm of pain crossed her features before they settled back into something more lifeless. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest and stared absently at the bumper.
Stupid. So stupid. Clearly she hadn't come here to hear about that. I couldn't think of one thing to say...
"Jacob, what do you know about motorcycles?"
I shrugged, relieved she'd changed the subject. "Some. My friend Embry has a dirt bike. We work on it together sometimes." She still looked interested... more than interested. Huh. Bella was into motorcycles... "Why?"
"Well..." she looked away guiltily, pursing her lips. "I recently acquired a couple of bikes, and they're not in the greatest condition. I wonder if you could get them running?"
That made more sense. Kind of. It made sense that she hadn't come here purely to see me. But the motorcycle part was still a mystery.
Whatever. I had this. And she wouldn't have asked if she doubted me. "Cool. I'll give it a try."
She almost smiled before holding up a cautioning finger. "The thing is, Charlie doesn't approve of motorcycles. Honestly, he'd probably bust a vein in his forehead if he knew about this. So you can't tell Billy."
"Sure, sure. I understand." I was grinning like an idiot again. How could I not? Bella, pretty and eighteen, seeks me out with a mysterious assignment to fix up some motorcycles behind our parents' backs because she knows I'm good with my hands...
I'd had worse afternoons.
"I'll pay you," she said quickly.
"No," I objected. We were friends and I wasn't about to let her forget it. "I want to help. You can't pay me."
This troubled her. She glanced away for a moment, thinking hard about something. "Well... how about a trade, then? I only need one bike - and I'll need lessons, too. So how about this? I'll give you the other bike, and then you can teach me."
She said this tentatively as if she hadn't just made my whole year.
"Swee-eet," I laughed, not bothering to hide my enthusiasm. I didn't want her to feel guilty.
"Wait a sec - are you legal yet? When's your birthday?" Her resemblance to Charlie was particularly strong at the moment.
"You missed it." I frowned at her disapprovingly until she smiled. "I'm sixteen."
"Not that your age ever stopped you before," she mumbled.
Yeah, definitely Charlie's kid... which made this motorcycle business all the more confusing.
"Sorry about your birthday." The corner of her lip curled up playfully. She looked so cute doing that.
Encouraged, I couldn't resist teasing her again. "Don't worry about it. I missed yours. What are you, forty?"
Stiffening, she muttered, "Close."
Hmm. Seemed I'd hit another nerve - Oh, duh. That jerk broke up with her the week of her birthday.
"We'll have a joint party to make up for it," I said brightly, acting as if I hadn't noticed her reaction.
Her face softened and I knew I'd distracted her. "Sounds like a date," she agreed.
The butterflies were infiltrating my throat now. It could have been July - I felt like I was going to sweat through my shirt.
She pressed her lips together as if she was trying to bite back her words. "Maybe when the bikes are finished," she said, almost frantically. "Our present to ourselves."
"Deal," I agreed easily. I got the message - she didn't need to worry about me pressuring her. "When will you bring them down?"
Bashfully she bit her lip, slowly raising her doe eyes up to mine.
Wow... got the message. But wow...
"They're in my truck now," she confessed.
"Great," I told her honestly. I would have been antsy waiting for them - I was genuinely excited to try my hand at motorcycles and even more excited to impress her.
"Will Billy see if we bring them around?"
In all honesty, it probably didn't matter if Billy saw them. I really doubted he would ruffle Charlie's feathers by tattling on us and he wouldn't care... but it was definitely more fun this way. A secret that belonged to just the two of us. I wanted to protect that.
I winked at her. "We'll be sneaky."
Bella hid in the shrubs while I pulled the bikes from the truck bed.
My brain was already in overdrive appraising the bikes as we pushed them back to the garage. "These aren't half bad. This one here" - I pointed to the black one - "will actually be worth something when I'm done - it's an old Harley Sprint."
"That one's yours, then," she said without hesitation.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
I could see my reaction pleased her so I decided not to argue it further. She adored the old Chevy after all - with that kind of taste it probably made no difference to her.
The thing was... the bikes were in really rough shape. Worse than I'd expected.
"These are going to take some cash, though. We'll have to save up for parts first."
I wondered if Quil's mom, Joy, might give me a few extra shifts at the store. Maybe Quil would offer me some of his shifts if he understood why... but then I'd have to tell him why - that would be fun...
"We nothing," Bella disagreed, offended. "If you're doing this for free, I'll pay for the parts."
"I don't know..."
"I've got some money saved." She shrugged. "College fund, you know."
I nodded. It was her money, I reasoned, she could spend it how she wanted. I still felt a little queasy about it, but I could feel her impatience. If I didn't help her now, how long would she wait before finding someone else?
No. I wouldn't waste this.
As I pulled apart the first bike, Bella sat in the passenger seat of the Rabbit. I couldn't deny I enjoyed the visual, but I was careful not to stare.
Though I rambled pretty shamelessly as I worked, she didn't get bored, commenting here and there, asking questions. It was easy to talk to her, like we'd known each other forever.
"Quil and Embry?" she asked when their names came up. "Those are unusual names."
I chuckled. "Quil's is a hand-me-down, and I think Embry got named after a soap opera star. I can't say anything, though. They fight dirty if you start on their names - they'll tag team you." I could still hear my mom shouting at Joy when I came home in the second grade with a black eye.
"Good friends," Bella muttered skeptically.
"No, they are," I insisted. "Just don't mess with their names."
"Jacob?" Quil's voice called from near the house.
Dang it.
"Is that Billy?" Bella asked anxiously.
"No." I ducked my head and my cheeks went hot knowing Quil's big mouth would not do me any favors. He hadn't matured much since the second grade. "Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear."
Maybe if we were really quiet he'd go away...
"Jake? Are you out here?"
Nope. Of course not.
"Yeah!" I shouted, imagining Bella would think I was more than a little weird if I suggested hiding in the back of the garage.
She watched me closely, trying to make sense of my reaction.
Two sets of foot steps. I sighed.
They came casually around the corner only to stop in their tracks the moment they saw Bella.
A slow smirk worked its way along Quil's lips as he stared openly at her. I knew that look. Embry was less interested in Bella specifically and more interested in whatever was going on between us. Cartoonish, his head swiveled quickly between the two of us before he eventually held my eyes, raising his eyebrows twice.
"Hey guys," I said, my tone unfriendly.
"Hey, Jake," Quil said smoothly, eyes still on Bella. He took a deep breath, puffing out his muscled chest.
It looked absolutely ridiculous but maybe Bella didn't think so. She grinned, giggling silently once.
Quil liked that. He winked, jerking his chin up. "Hi there."
"Quil, Embry," I interjected, trying to break their locked eyes, "this is my friend Bella."
Without an ounce of subtlety, Quil and Embry shared a loaded look, both smirking now.
"Charlie's kid right?" Quil thrust his hand out in front of him.
Bella took it. "That's right."
He let his fingers close around her hand in a sequential spiral fashion. The idiot was flexing his bicep, leaning towards her as he did. "I'm Quil Ateara," he announced, deepening his voice, before finally releasing her.
She hid her hand half behind her leg, quickly splaying her fingers. "Nice to meet you, Quil."
"Hey, Bella. I'm Embry, Embry Call - you probably already figured that out, though." Opposite Quil, Embry's voice jumped so high it broke. He waved awkwardly before stuffing his hand in his pocket. Talking to girls always made him sweat.
Bella's face softened into a reassuring smile as she nodded. "Nice to meet you, too."
Quil ignored my glare, still glued to Bella. "So what are you guys doing?"
"Bella and I," I said pointedly, tying her in with me, "are going to fix up these bikes."
Surprise flickered across their faces. They were sufficiently distracted - the worst of it seemed to be over - but they also seemed ready to settle in.
Embry dropped down to look at the parts of the red bike I had laid out on the floor. Quil sat cross-legged beside him. Embry had some good ideas on how I might go about the rebuild, but Quil's suggestions were basically nonsense. He was probably trying to impress Bella and assuming - correctly, I imagined - that she wouldn't spot his ignorance if he was confident enough.
Completely engrossed in the conversation, I'd forgotten my annoyance with them when Bella slipped quietly from the Rabbit.
"We're boring you, aren't we?" I asked regretfully.
"Naw. I just have to go cook dinner for Charlie."
I wished she'd agreed to stay for dinner. It felt like she'd just gotten here.
"Oh... well, I'll finish taking these apart tonight and figure out what more we'll need to get started rebuilding them. When do you want to work on them again?" It would be easier to control the anxious energy eating at me if I knew when I'd see her next.
"Could I come back tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.
She wanted to spend her whole weekend with me... my face broke into a grin. "That would be great!" I ignored Quil and Embry who were even more entertained by my eagerness than Billy had been.
Bella relaxed, reassured. "If you make a list, we can go shop for parts."
It was my turn to tense. "I'm still not sure I should let you pay for everything."
She shook her head. "No way. I'm bankrolling this party. You just have to supply the labor and expertise."
Embry rolled his eyes at Bella's confidence in my abilities.
"That doesn't seem right," I said, shaking my head.
Yeah, I didn't want to let her down... but I worked hard for the things I had. And she couldn't be making that much at her retail job.
She sighed. "Jake, if I took these to a mechanic, how much would he charge me?"
Fair point. I smiled. "Okay, you're getting a deal."
"Not to mention the riding lessons," she reminded me.
Too loudly, Quil whispered behind me, "Who's riding who?"
"Who's riding whom?" Embry corrected more discretely.
I turned abruptly, striking Quil on the back of the head. "That's it, get out," I growled.
"No, really." Bella held her hands up in front of her and made her way to the opening of the garage. "I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow, Jacob."
"Wooooo!" Quil and Embry sang when Bella was out of sight but, unless she had a hearing impairment I hadn't picked up on, not out of earshot.
I knocked Quil on the back of the head again before catching Embry across the shoulder. "If either of you set so much as one toe on my land tomorrow, you'll wish you'd never been born."
Embry scrambled away laughing as Quil socked me in the side.
"Wait, wait, wait. So how did this happen? Did you call her?" Embry demanded.
"Nope," I answered smugly. "She came to me. She wants my help." I gestured at the mess on the floor.
"Oh, Jacob," Quil cried shrilly, "how ever will I survive without your scrawny ass to help me?"
I snorted. "I'm like a foot taller than you."
"Not even. Besides, that beautiful woman needs a man, not a skeleton." He curled himself into various showy poses like he was Arnold Schwarzenegger or something.
"What did you guys talk about?" Embry pressed.
"Is she still all... crazy?" Quil asked.
"She was never crazy. She was sad - "
"Did she tell you what happened? What that creep did to her in the woods?"
"Yeah, Quil. We sat here and talked about Edward Cullen the whole time."
"Really?"
"No!"
"You're such a moron, Quil." Embry sat next to me again. "But, really, what did she say?"
"I don't know. We mostly talked about the bikes. And then I just told her about school and stuff."
Quil was staring at the passenger seat of the Rabbit like she was still there. "She's so hot."
"I don't know... she kinda looks like a drug addict - " I turned my furious gaze from Quil to Embry and he scrambled to explain himself. "I just mean she looked... tired or something..."
"But that smile. You saw her checking me out, right?"
"No one was checking you out," I disagreed heatedly. "No one is ever checking you out... unless you're referring to your own reflection..."
He didn't seem to hear me, too busy smirking at nothing.
"So... you guys are just friends?" Embry checked.
I shrugged. "For now."
The phone woke me the next morning. Billy was still chatting when I settled in for breakfast.
"Uh-huh... wow... yeah, when she was leaving yesterday" - my head whipped up - "she was smiling... I know." Billy chuckled. "Okay... Okay then... Bye."
"Who was that?"
"Charlie."
"Oh..." I said, taking a bite of toast.
"He's in a good mood this morning," Billy said vaguely, dangling the bait.
"Because he got to hear your pretty voice?"
"Bella slept through the night," he said quietly. "No screaming."
To him this was good news. "So she's still been doing that, then? Every night?" I felt bad I'd lost track of her. That I'd stopped asking. Her suffering hit me harder now that I had this fresh picture of her. I could imagine her curled up in her bed crying. Everything black and white. Her skin too pale, the circles under her eyes too deep.
I imagined myself there beside her, pulling her into my arms. Holding her until she fell asleep.
Billy nodded, understanding the grief in my face. "But not last night," he pointed out, trying to cheer me. "And...," a twinkle came into his eye, "she told Charlie she had fun hanging out with you yesterday."
"I'm glad she had a good time," I mumbled, not meeting his eyes.
"Charlie said you guys made plans to see each other again today..."
"Yeah," I said, getting quickly to my feet and tripping as I did. "I'm gonna get ready. I don't know what time she'll get here."
"Where your black shirt," he called as I disappeared into my room. "It brings out your eyes."
"Ha ha," I yelled back, pulling the black shirt from my dresser.
A/N: Up next Bella and Jacob flirt and hold hands for the first time.
