BPOV
Leaving Jake was hard. I knew I'd see him again tomorrow but being around him made me feel safe. I knew that he would fight, tooth and nail, risking his life for me and while that made me feel so loved it was also a bit terrifying. It was terrifying that he would protect me, it was terrifying that he could get hurt or worse doing so. I didn't want anyone dying on my behalf.
I was sitting on Leah's bed with Kim when Leah walked into the room, distracting me from my thoughts. She had a literal platter of snack foods and two DVD's in her hands. I took the DVD's to help her out and looked them over while she set the food down on her desk.
"The Notebook and The Grudge." I turned them over, glancing at the back of the boxes before shrugging and sticking the first one in her DVD player.
By the end of The Notebook, we were messes. Completely torn apart. Leah tried to hide it but we could see her emotions peaking through.
"Don't hide it." Kim spoke up. "The guys aren't as tough as you think, they just keep their thoughts in check when phased. Jared? He was a mess for A Walk To Remember. So sweet though, it was a great movie."
"That movie still gets to me and I haven't seen it since it was in theatres." I confirmed, it was a good movie and a great time with my mom but also embarrassing. "Worst decision ever by the way. My mom took me. Got me to wear makeup. I'm sure you can guess how that ended. That was the last time I wore makeup before Alice Cullen forced it on me."
"I don't get why you ever got pulled under their wings anyways?" Leah asked.
"New town and the hottest guy in school liked you? Hard to say no. Of course now when I think back, it was all just very creepy."
"Creepy how?" Kim asked. Shoving mini MM's into her mouth.
"He… well one of the first things was while we sat next to each other in class, I thought based on his face that he was upset with me for something. Turned out he was holding his breath because my blood called to him."
"It what?" Leah and Kim said in unison before glancing at each other and bursting into laughter.
"My blood smelled particularly appetizing compared to other people. Apparently some vampires encounter someone like that or multiple someone's and it is impossible for them not to just kill on sight."
"So you took this as a personal challenge to test fate?" Leah asked, downing a can of soda and tossing it in a trash can by her door before letting out a loud burp. "Sorry."
"Um, no. I just, he was handling it and I dunno, it seemed kind of nice to be wanted. I didn't realise how obsessed he was though. Looking back at it, it's obvious. He would, even before I knew he was a vampire, sneak into my room at night while I slept. One night I thought I was dreaming because there he stood but then I blinked and he was gone and I was wide awake. That was around when I figured out what they were."
"Ok, yup." Kim said, eyes wide. "That is definitely creepy. He watched you sleep? Gross."
"I know! What was I thinking? And if I wanted to be wanted so bad, Jake was practically throwing himself at me. I don't know why I was so blind. Anyways enough of poor confused Bella. I need to pee, then I want to watch the next movie before I pass out. It's getting late and I want to have all my energy tomorrow."
"For Jake?" Kim asked, wiggling her eyebrows up and down.
"Shut up!" I tossed a pillow at her and left the room. When I came back in, Leah was popping the DVD into the machine. "Good timing."
"Nah." Leah admitted, "Doggy ears. I heard the door open."
"Well speaking of creepy…" I hopped onto the bed and grabbed a handful of Mini MM's before Kim ate them all and sorted them into colors on my loose fitting t-shirt that I'd pulled over my knees like a table. Both girls gave me an odd look at that but oh well. "Let's turn this on."
The Grudge wasn't super entertaining but definitely kept me glancing at the dark spots in the corners of the room thinking something moved when it hadn't.
We sat and watched the movie. I was right. It was creepy. "I figure, sleep is for the weak anyways, right?"
"You scared, Bella?" Leah asked.
"Yes. Vampires, werewolves, They have nothing on this."
"Well," Kim started, "From experience, if you don't fall asleep soon, your overtired state will make every shadow look like it's moving and creep you out even more. So I vote go to sleep." She set up her sleeping bag on the floor and laid down on her stomach.
"Fine." I set up my sleeping bag and wrapped my arms around my pillow, closing my eyes to the darkness around me.
/The Next Morning/
Waking up at Leah's was odd to me. I'd never been the sleepover type of girl so this was actually my very first if you didn't count vampires. Leah walked back in from using the bathroom and a smell hit my nose, pancakes. "Mmmm."
"My mom is home and her pancake recipe is to die for. Plus we have locally tapped real maple syrup for it, she said if you didn't try it before you leave that she'd be sad." Leah rolled her eyes.
"It smells amazing. Of course I'll have some."
It was weird sitting down to eat at Harry's dining table without him being there but it wouldn't be long before he could go home. He must be giving Carlisle an earful any time he checks in with him. I stacked 3 pancakes on my plate. They weren't overly big and had a fluffy center but a crispy brown edge. They smelled delicious. I melted some butter onto them then drizzled on the syrup and took a bite.
"Oh my… MMM. That's, um… wow." I couldn't quite figure out what to say. These knocked my pancakes out of the water. They weren't even a contender.
"Hey." Jake said from behind me. He was so quiet and stealthy since becoming a wolf that I didn't even hear him come in. "There's something about a girl saying MMM while licking their lips that I just can't get over."
My eyes went wide. While the way it made me feel was good, how could he so easily say something like that, especially in front of Sue? I was turning red and I had nowhere to hide.
"Jake, if you promise to behave, I'll get you a plate." Sue said, and winked. Was she used to this kind of behavior or something?
"Deal." Jake sat down beside me at the table. "Hey Kim. Heading over to Jared's soon? He said he has the morning off." Her face lit up at his name.
"Yeah. We're actually going to be babysitting his cousin, Everly. Not the most fun I've had but I get to spend time with him which is nice." She finished her pancakes, and waved to us, heading out the door as she thanked Sue for her hospitality.
"So, are you feeling any better?" I asked Jake. His response was to pull his shirt up and show that where Paul's fang had sunk in, was just a bruise now. "That's good. I was so worried."
"It's going to take more than an angry wolf to take me down." Jake looked a little afraid, "Don't be upset but I decided to patrol this morning when Sam's done."
"Oh. That's alright. I'll walk with you to Sam's?" I replied, finishing my second pancake and offering the third to Jake. I guess I was less hungry than I thought.
We cleaned up and headed out, leaving my truck and walking the distance to Sam's little home.
