An Interesting Meeting

¨No idea, I´ve never seen him before,¨ Mike answered, turning away from Jacob as he was not interested in him.

And why would he? He didn't even know what he was. If Mike had known the handsome man in front of him would be a vampire, he totally would´have acted differently.

Jessica sighed. ¨Too bad he doesn't go to our school.¨

I shook my head. Thank god he didn´t.

Jacob had already seen us, -seen me- but he walked to the waiter and sat down at an empty table, pretending to order something.

I kept my eyes on him, knowing full well he wouldn´t murder six students in a diner, with enough witnesses around us. But even if I knew that, I was still afraid to turn away from him.

¨He must be a tourist,¨ Angela added.

I frowned. Jacob indeed did not look as if he belonged here. Something about him was ´off´. Just as something about Edward and I was ´off´ but with Jacob, you just knew that he was unapproachable. He was dangerous.

Everyone knew or felt that, except for Jessica.

¨If he's a tourist, I should give him my number. Maybe show him around,¨ she eagerly said, already jumping in her seat, ready to walk over to him.

¨No!¨ I said out loud.

Six pairs of eyes turned to me.

¨What´s wrong?¨ Taylor asked.

I figured I needed to be a little bit honest with them, otherwise Jessica would go to him and I didn't want to think about the possible consequences.

¨I know him,¨ I explained. ¨He's bad news, believe me.¨

Jessica leaned in and her eyes glistened with curiosity. ¨Tell me more, so he´s a bad boy?¨

I nodded. ¨Very bad.¨

She giggled and backed off a bit, although she was still hesitant. I could almost see her considering going to Jacob. I needed to stop this. And quick.

¨He's really bad,¨ I elaborated further. ¨I seriously need to warn you about him, Jess. We were close once, but he took a dark path, if you know what I mean.¨

I saw the sparkle in her eyes finally die down. Mike winked at me and quickly changed the subject.

¨I can't believe there's another prom coming soon. What do you think the theme would be this time? I really liked the Vegas one last year.¨

¨That one was epic,¨ Ben agreed.

Luckily, after discussing what the theme would be and what everyone would wear if prom indeed had that theme, everyone had to go home again. And Jessica seemed to forget Jacob, as soon as the topic of clothing arrived.

I told everyone I needed to use the toilet, so I could stay behind. I needed to ask Jacob if he knew more about Seattle. So I hugged everyone goodbye and indeed went to the toilet.

Once I came back, I sat down at Jacob´s table.

¨You know, you´ve practically cockblocked me.¨

I rolled my eyes. ¨I did no such thing.¨

¨Well, maybe I needed to be shown around. As I´m the hot tourist around here.¨

Jacob grinned and even though I did not find it funny, I still laughed with him. He eventually stopped and leaned forward, all humor left his face and a seriousness I hadn't seen before took over.

¨So, I´m bad news now?¨

¨I don´t know,¨ I answered truthfully.

¨What makes you think I'm bad news?¨

I shrugged. ¨You tell me. What has happened in Seattle?¨

Jacob leaned back, frowning. ¨So you´ve heard about that.¨

I swallowed at the lump in my throat. ¨Please don´t play dumb,¨ I begged. ¨If you must know, I´ve been lied to for quite some time. So, please don´t play dumb, I really need your answer.¨

Jacob reached out and grabbed my hand. ¨If you must know, Bella, I wasn't responsible for that.¨

I looked at his hand and realised it calmed me a bit, but only slightly. He looked sincere, I guess, and I needed that.

¨So Jessica…?¨

He rolled his eyes. ¨Had nothing to be afraid of.¨ He laughed and showed me his pointy teeth. ¨Unless she likes that, of course.¨

I pulled my hand back, feeling a little bit disgusted by his humour. Jacob only laughed and pointed to the door.

¨But if you need more answers, maybe you should ask your precious boyfriend.¨

¨What are you talking about?¨

He pointed at the door again. I turned around and grasped. Edward stood outside and watched us, his face unreadable. He stood next to his silver Volvo, impatiently waiting until we were finished.

¨What's he doing here?¨ I mumbled, more to myself than to Jacob.

Unfortunately, his vampire hearing heard me. ¨I guess he followed me here. Afraid I would hurt you, perhaps.¨

I turned to him again, but I didn't feel afraid of him anymore. I only heard his frustration.¨Would you do that?¨

Jacob shook his head. ¨Of course not, Bella.¨

He stood up and I followed him. He threw a fiver on the table for his unpaid water, and gave me a half-smile. ¨It's been fun meeting you again.¨

I nodded him goodbye, and quickly walked towards the door. I needed to go with Edward, and I wanted him away before he and Jacob would fight each other. And I needed to hear what Edward had to say for himself.

I opened the door and faced Edward.