Like A Slow Burn But Faster
The ringing phone drew Bella's attention. Evie was immersed in whatever she was reading, so Bella wandered over to the dresser Evie's phone sat on top of and picked it up, fighting back just the smallest hint of jealousy as soon as she saw Jacob's number and from the looks of it, a pretty lengthy text conversation already taking place.
"When did you run into Jacob?" Bella's question prompted Evie to close the battered copy of The Shining she was re reading and glance up at her older sister while giving a half shrug. "Two Saturdays ago at First Beach. When I went to play volleyball with Jess, Mike and Eric for a while. Why?" Evie asked as she rose to sit, tucking a leg beneath her and nodded at the phone in Bella's hand. "Give me that."
"Did he say why he hasn't bothered texting me back any of the thousand times I've texted to ask if he's okay?" Bella asked the question. When Evie swallowed hard and fidgeted just a little, that slight hint of jealousy grew just a little more.
"You're the one who prioritized Edward. Jacob warned you several times about the guy, Bells. You can't have both worlds. You made your choice. You're the one marrying Edward, remember?"
"Jacob is my friend." Bella spoke up, the words coming out before she could stop them.
"You seem to be forgetting that Jacob is also my friend. There is no law that he can't have more than one friend.. Unless you want more than friendship." Evie studied her sister intently as she made the statement and as soon as she saw the look in her sister's eyes, she shook her head and gave Bella a frustrated eye roll. "You honestly thought you could have them both, didn't you? Do you realize how bad that would have gone? Do you even have one tenth of a clue just how much you hurt Jacob? Because I'm not stupid, Bella. I know there's more to this than the little you did tell me. Jacob wouldn't just break contact for months for no reason unless you did something really, really bad."
"You don't know him as well as you used to. Just trust me. Things are different now. They're more complicated." Bella tried to explain but she could just look at Evie and tell that her explanation was going to get her nowhere because Evie had apparently made up her own mind already.
"You keep saying that, but you never give a good reason why. Maybe your words would hold more weight if I had some kind of proof. Right now all I'm seeing is you, refusing to admit that you might have hurt him and trying to make it right. Have you even tried to apologize? Or do you even remember how to do that anymore?" Evie asked the question calmly and quietly. There wasn't any sense in raising her voice or getting angry and lashing out. Bella would only shut down if she did either thing.
Bella's mouth opened and closed. "What do you think me texting him over and over only to be left on read for months was, huh? Do you think I was just doing it to do it? I miss him, okay? He's.. He's my best friend." Bella went quiet as she paced the bedroom they shared. She tossed the phone onto Evie's bed for her and Evie grabbed it.
Evie sighed and shook her head as she went to her settings and put in a lock code for future intents and purposes. She'd had a feeling Bella wasn't going to be thrilled with the fact that she and Jacob were talking. The thing that surprised Evie the most was that Bella actually seemed more jealous about it than hurt that Evie was talking to him. Like she had some kind of claim over Jacob and who he chose to be friends with or cut out of his life. The realization had Evie really stopping to think about how much her sister had actually changed.
It wasn't surprising that Jacob was ignoring her sister. Bella, as usual, was refusing to see the bigger picture. By now she'd had enough time to take the little bits and pieces that Bella had actually told her as well as what she'd heard from Leah and Jessica about the way Bella acted and she liked to think that she'd come to a somewhat safe conclusion as to how things had really gone and what really led to Jacob's distancing himself.
Jacob had always sort of had stronger feelings for Bella. And Evie wasn't stupid. She knew her sister wasn't some horrible or evil person, but she knew Bella wasn't without major flaws at the same time. One of those flaws happened to be the fact that Bella tended to do whatever she had to do in order to get something she wanted. It wasn't a stretch to think that one of the things Bella might have done was to unintentionally lead Jacob on for a while when Edward was gone and they were spending so much time together, a fact that Bella hadn't wasted any time gushing on and on about every single time Evie called to talk to Bella or their father while she was living in Florida. It almost felt as if Bella were rubbing it in on occasion.
Bella's throat clearing drew her out of her own thoughts and she glanced at her sister, sighing as she shook her head in disappointment. "I'm not fighting with you over this. Jacob is my friend too. If I want to talk to him or hang out with him, I'm going to do that. Why's it matter so much anyway, huh? Edward's back and you're never away from him for more than three seconds. You cut everyone else out, Bella.. Nevermind." Evie went quiet and turned her attention to the text that Jacob had just sent her, his usual good morning text.
Why hadn't she just put the phone under her pillow last night? She had a perfectly good outlet at the top of her bed, she could've used that instead of the one by the dresser.
Bella's mouth opened and closed and she sat watching her sister reading the text and smiling softly to herself as she tried harder to fight down the jealousy as it grew. "I don't want to fight over it. I'm sorry." Bella apologized when she finally managed to shove down the jealousy far enough within her to get the words to come out properly. "I mean it.I really am sorry. Could you tell him I said hi, at least?"
Evie glanced up at Bella as if she had three heads. "If he wanted to talk to you Bella, he'd respond to your texts. Actions have consequences. Maybe it's time you realized that. I'm not going to bring up something I know for a fact bothers him, okay? No. You're keeping me out of your mess."
"You're my sister. You're supposed to be on my side." Bella gave her sister a hurt look.
Evie grumbled and stood. "I'm not doing this with you. I'm not picking a side. You won't make me, either. All I'm trying to say is that you can't get away with cutting people out of your life and then be upset when they finally choose to give you what you asked for."
"I didn't ask for him to stop being my friend. I didn't. That's the last thing I wanted." Bella responded just as the door to their shared bedroom shut behind Evie as Evie walked out of it. Bella fell back against her bed and stared at the ceiling. Then she grabbed her cell phone and for a few seconds, she heavily considered sending yet another text to Jacob.
She sighed and tossed the phone onto her bed. Evie had made some pretty good points. They were hard to hear considering Bella was starting to realize too little, too late that she loved Jacob as much as she loved Edward, but she had made some really good points. Bella knew she couldn't have them both.
It didn't stop her from wishing that weren't so.
Evie wandered into the kitchen, still reading the good morning text Jacob sent her, smiling softly to herself. Charlie smiled at his youngest daughter and nodded to a plate of sausage and scrambled eggs. "Made breakfast if you're hungry."
Evie grabbed herself a smaller plate and filled it with food, sinking down to sit in a chair as she responded to Jacob's text. Warning him that Bella had snooped through her phone and knew they were talking and hanging out.
[evie] just a heads up.. Bella went through my phone earlier and saw our texts. So.. she knows we're talking and hanging out.
[evie] we kind of had an argument about it. I had to leave our room because if I hadn't I would have said things I'd regret.
[evie] so that's my morning so far, big guy. I hope yours is better?
[evie] i'm gonna eat breakfast and then I'll be on my way over. I have to stop by the redbox outside of the drug store because I didn't last night and I need to return those movies we watched. Want me to get more?
Billy chuckled as Jacob's cell phone began to buzz violently against the tabletop and he nodded to it. "Someone's popular today. You gonna answer that, kid?"
Jacob sat down his fork and picked up the phone, his eyes scanning the texts as a soft smirk played at his lips. The smirk vanished and he tensed a little as soon as he got to the message Evie sent back, warning him that Bella knew they were talking and hanging out with each other again. "Damn it."
"Language, kid." Billy muttered before asking in a concerned tone what was wrong. Jacob didn't answer just yet, continuing to read all the messages that Evie sent back in response to his good morning text that he'd sent her when he woke up.
When he finished reading her texts, he glanced across the table at his father and grumbled quietly, "Evie was trying to avoid telling Bella that we're talking and stuff and this morning, Bella saw my message on her phone. So she knows. And from what Evie said in the text she sent just now, she's not happy about it, either."
Billy chuckled. "She's the one who made her choice, son. You did try." he pointed out with a half shrug.
"And I wish I hadn't. Obviously that was a waste of time entirely, Dad." Jacob explained as he chuckled in amusement.
Before he put the phone back down, he got a text from Bella.
[bella] are you going to stay angry at me forever?
[bella] we're best friends, jacob.
[bella] talk to me… please?
Jacob rolled his eyes and deleted the entire chain of messages that Bella had sent him over the duration of his self-imposed silent treatment. "I'd really rather not, Bells. That's what you have the mosquito for, remember? Go talk to him."
"Kid, she was your friend too. Perhaps she can still be saved."
"Not if she doesn't want to, dad. And it's not my place. I'm not even bothering with any of it anymore. The only way I'm getting involved is if something happens that affects Evie. Otherwise? Not my circus, not my monkeys."
"Noted." Billy chuckled in amusement. Honestly, he didn't blame his son at all. He glanced at Jacob and smiled to himself when he realized that Jacob was typing away on his phone. Probably answering Evie's texts, Billy thought to himself.
[jacob] .yikes. Did she explode?
[jacob] she texted me. I deleted the entire message history with her. If she bothers you too much, let me know.
He smirked a little to himself at that particular text. He wouldn't hesitate to put Bella in her place if she tried to start things. He'd finally tell her exactly how messed up her entire thought process truly was, just like he'd stupidly bitten his tongue over countless times before. This was different. This would be her, upsetting his imprint. Evie's happiness was more important than Bella's now. And for probably the thousandth time since imprinting Evie, Jacob found himself wondering if everything would be completely different if Evie had moved back at the same time as Bella. Because he was older now. He liked to think he would have acted on the crush he used to have on Evie. The one that kept him a fair bit shyer around her on occasions when they were kids.
[jacob] actually.. I was thinking we could take a ride on my motorcycle.. If you want to?
[jacob] be careful coming over. I've seen the way you drive, it's insane.
Jacob finished responding to Evie's texts and put his phone down, turning his attention back to his food. Billy spoke up after a little while, smiling as he did. "Are we going to see Evie today, kid?"
"She's coming over after she finishes her breakfast. I thought I'd take her for a ride on the bike today."
"Oh you did, huh?" Billy teased a little, giving his son a wink. "You should take her out to that grassy hill on the outskirts. That's where I took your mom a time or two to watch the sun set." Billy hinted as he put his plate on his lap and rolled himself over to the sink to wash it up.
Jacob chuckled to himself and grabbed his plate, wandering over to wash it also. "Maybe I will, dad. Do you need anything done?"
"Think it's time to change the oil in my truck and the Rabbit. That's about it though." Billy answered as Jacob nodded and sat his plate into the drain rack beside the sink. He walked into his room to change and then he headed out to the shed in back of his father's house to change the oil in their vehicles as he waited on Evie to show up.
About ten minutes into changing the oil in his father's pickup, Evie cleared her throat from the doorway of the shed before wandering inside. Sitting down on the concrete beside where Jacob was sprawled on his back, draining the oil from the oil pan. "You'll never guess who tried to talk herself right into coming with me and how her idiot reacted when she did." Evie said aloud with a laugh as she leaned against the truck for a few seconds.
Jacob gripped the bottom of the front bumper and pulled himself out from beneath the truck as he sat up, gazing at Evie and trying not to laugh at what she'd just told him. "She seriously did that.. In front of Cullen." Jacob asked as he shook his head.
Evie found herself staring at Jacob entirely too hard. Biting her lip as she took in the sight of him, shirtless and lightly covered in sporadic areas of his body with oil from the vehicle he was working on. Her mind chose to take the imagery and run just a little further with it and the next thing she knew, she was distracted and dazed, picturing an alternate world in which the first thing he did when he pulled himself out from beneath the truck was pull her into his lap and take his face in her hands, kissing her until she forgot how to breathe properly. Her cheeks heated up as soon as he cleared his throat and gave her a little smirk, repeating what he'd asked before she zoned out on him.
"Mhm. And he politely but firmly reminded her they were going to have a picnic." Evie giggled it out as she reached for Jacob's face, using her thumb to attempt removing some oil from his cheek. "You get it?" Jacob asked while trying to reign himself in and ignore the urge to grab hold of her hand and hold it there. The fact that her scent was three times as sweet as it normally was right now had the animal side of him really trying to rear it's head and as a result, all he wanted to do was pull her into his lap and crash his mouth against hers. Over and over. Until they were both dizzy and breathless.
His eyes settled on the styrofoam cup in her hands and she held it out to him wordlessly. Jacob took it, taking a long sip of the chocolate milkshake and then he held it back out to her as he wiped his hand over his mouth. "Billy wanted me to change the oil in the vehicles before I take you for a ride."
"Want any help? I mean, I can't.. Do all of that. But I can hand you tools and stuff." Evie offered as she held the cup out to him again. Jacob took it and sipped more of the milkshake and he nodded. "Yeah."
"Awesome." Evie muttered, going quiet as she found herself getting lost in his eyes. It was something she seemed to do a lot lately, no matter how hard she tried to fight the urge. "Hey, make room. I think I'll come under with you. You can explain how to do all this to me."
Jacob scooted over, making just enough room that Evie could slip under beside him if she turned on her side. Evie slipped underneath the truck with him, blushing all over as soon as she realized exactly what she'd gotten herself into when she offered to watch and learn. She had to press against his side and this was nothing if not the highest form of distraction for her. The heat of his body enveloped her like usual and concerned, Evie reached out, putting a hand against his forehead. "You're burning up."
"Because it's hot in here, Evie." Jacob explained without missing a beat. "I'm fine." he went on to reassure her. She gazed at him in concern but luckily, she didn't push further. It was already hard enough not to blurt out what he was, what she was to him and everything else every single time he opened his mouth. He couldn't wait until he finally felt ready to tell her. Then there wouldn't be any secrets between them because while he was at it, whether Sam gave the okay or not, he was going to tell her every single thing Bella had gotten involved with, totally unfiltered. Just so she knew exactly what kind of danger Bella had no problem exposing her to. Someone had to tell her. At least if it were him, Jacob reasoned, it could be done a lot more gently. He could also tell her how to spot certain things and how to know when to extract herself from a situation if he weren't around, should one arise.
He'd die before he let the results of Bella's actions and choices trickle down and somehow harm Evie. It wasn't going to happen if he could help it, no matter what he had to do.
Jacob got back to focusing on what he was doing as best as he could given the distraction Evie presented all pressed up against his side like she was, stopping to explain carefully what Evie needed to do in order and showing her how. Evie's eyes were fixed on him, hanging on every word. Nodding when he'd say something and occasionally speaking up to ask questions.
He chuckled at one point when she got an oil drop on her forehead and grimaced.
"Okay, while that's draining, we change the oil filter." Jacob muttered, despite the fact that he remained in place kind of just staring at her as opposed to getting out from beneath the truck. Evie was staring right back. "Which involves getting out from under here." he muttered with a laugh as he started to pull himself out and then helped her slip out from beneath the truck too, holding out his hand to her to help her off the concrete slab floor. When he pulled her up, it sent her right against him and before he could stop himself, he'd slipped an arm around her waist to kind of just hold her there as he gazed down at her.
"Earth to Jacob." Evie teased gently, despite the fact that Jacob wasn't the only one doing a lot of staring at the moment. She couldn't take her eyes off him, she'd tried more than once already and failed at doing so. Jacob's free hand raised and he wiped at the oil smudge on her forehead, snickering through a soft smirk. "You've got oil on yourself now too."
"Ick." Evie muttered, her eyes leaving his. Settling on his mouth as she swallowed -or tried to swallow down the lump in her throat. She'd pressed against him even closer before she could stop herself and Jacob gave a quiet groan, his one-handed grip on her waist tightening just a little. "I'll have to wash my face." she muttered softly.
"Yeah, we can wash up before we go for our ride."
"You have helmets, right?" Evie asked as she gave a tilt of her head, continuing to stare.
"Yeah, I have a helmet for you. You're probably going to want a jacket or a hoodie or something. The wind gets kind of cold when I'm riding."
Evie wanted to melt into the floor when her mouth opened and the words came out. "Are you sure? I mean you have enough body heat for three people, Mr. I'm Fine and Don't Have a Fever." she teased gently, making Jacob chuckle. "Or you could just hold on really tight." he smirked as he teased right back and nodded to the box that held the oil filter for his father's pickup. "Hand me that and the two wrenches beside it. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can take you on that ride."
Evie wandered over, grabbing the oil filter box and the wrenches and she wandered back up to him, pressing the wrenches into his hand as she sat the box down under the hood. They were doing it again, migrating closer and closer together. For a few seconds Evie toyed with just going for it already, raising up a little just to give him a peck on the lips. But she managed to talk herself out of it.
Jacob filled the slim gap of space remaining between their bodies and towered over her, gazing down at her as he gave a soft laugh. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I was just thinking." Evie answered quick and shook her head a little to clear out the pesky thoughts and desires she was currently having. But they wouldn't be ignored.
"About?" Jacob questioned, a brow raised as he smiled down at her.
"Nothing. Just kind of letting my mind wander, I suppose."
Jacob smiled a little. He could kind of tell what she was thinking about, for one thing she kept letting her eyes settle on his lips and for another, her scent kept getting sweeter and sweeter and driving the animal inside of him completely berserk. He'd figured out another use for his keen sense of smell and how to use it in regards to the shift of her moods and the way it affected her scent and now that he'd figured that out, it took every shred of self-control he possessed not to rush or push too fast.
He knew she'd always had a little bit of a harder time saying what she wanted, though. And he also knew that he was just kind of letting everything happen freely, not rushing into it. He wanted to enjoy every second.
They had all the time in the world.
"Oh, yeah, there was one thing I wanted to ask." Evie remembered what Jessica had been after her to ask Jacob for an entire week now since the dance had been announced. "There's this stupid dance.."
Jacob laughed quietly and bit his lip. "How formal?"
"It's semi formal. No full on suit and tie. It's the Spring Fling? I.. I wanna go, but I wanted to know if maybe you'd go with me?" Evie tilted her head to gaze up at him as she tried her best at self composure because Jacob had somehow managed to step even closer to her and now his hand was squeezing her hip again and it was all she could do to attempt keeping a semi-coherent train of thought.
If she thought she had a crush on him when they were little, it was nothing compared to now. But she was trying hard not to cross any lines or come off too needy or pushy. She was mostly just enjoying the fact that she and Jacob were spending time together and she knew how he'd felt about her sister. She knew he might still be hurting from that. That he might need time before she could even attempt.. Making any kind of move.
She wasn't in a hurry.
She was content to enjoy what they had, even when there were little moments like this when all she wanted to do was grab hold of him and kiss him until she couldn't think straight. Or others when she thought she'd open her mouth and it would all come pouring out before she could stop it.
"I'll be there." Jacob answered without a single shred of hesitation as he smiled down at her. Her eyes lit up and she bounced around on her feet a little, happy. And this only made him happy.
"After, Jess and I were thinking about playing paintball in our dresses. She's bringing Mike, if you wanna come too…" Evie hinted and Jacob chuckled as he shrugged. "I'd like that."
Jacob turned his attention back to changing out the oil filter and Evie watched, listening as he explained the steps needed in order to do so. Handing him tools and laughing as they talked.
He'd just finished changing the oil and filters in both his father's pickup and the rabbit when he smirked and nodded towards the black and chrome motorcycle leaned against the wall of the shed.
"Ready to go?"
"As soon as we wash up, yeah." Evie reminded him. Jacob nodded and made his way over to the industrial sink in the corner, grabbing soap and lathering up his hands.
"You've kind of got some on your arm.." Evie pointed out as she stood next to him, waiting her turn. Jacob held out the cloth he'd been cleaning off his abdomen and chest with to her. "Think you can get it?" he asked. Evie bit her lip and took the cloth, nodding. She started to scrub at the oil spot and after a few seconds, she held out the cloth to him. Jacob took it and started to carefully rub at the spot of oil on her forehead and the smudges on her cheeks as he chuckled.
He walked over to the motorcycle, starting to push it out of the shed and Evie followed, the two of them stopping at the side of the road in front of his house. Jacob held out the helmet to her and she gazed at him. "Where's yours?"
"I'll get another one. I'm not going to go fast okay, I promise. You wear that." Jacob insisted. Evie nodded and put on the helmet, getting onto the motorcycle behind him, wrapping her arms around him and leaning against his muscular back. Jacob turned the key and the motorcycle roared to life as they took off.
The sun was just starting to sink low in the sky and the wind was getting cooler. Jacob chuckled to himself as soon as he felt Evie scoot even closer and cling to his back as she called out over the noise of the engine, "This is fun!"
"Yeah, it is." Jacob picked up speed just a little, smiling as she laughed and held on even tighter. He found the place his father had been telling him about earlier and he stopped the bike, getting off. Evie turned to sit sideways and Jacob stepped between her legs. "My dad used to bring his old bike up here a lot. With mom. Or that's what he was telling me earlier.. I thought we could kind of just like.. Watch the sun go down?"
Evie smiled and let Jacob pull her off the motorcycle and lead her over to a large boulder where they both sat down. She settled between his legs, leaning back against him and they watched as the sun set and the moon began to rise, bringing out the stars.
"This is nice. It's quiet up here." Evie mused after a few minutes. Jacob agreed. "Yeah." he wrapped his arms around her from behind when he felt chillbumps rising on her bare arms.
"Better?" he asked in a soft husk against the shell of her ear.
"Much." Evie smiled to herself and settled back against Jacob just a little more, pointing up to a cluster of stars as she started to tell him what the name of it was and the story behind it. Jacob listened intently, chuckling. "That's kinda neat." he muttered, pointing at a star as it moved quickly across the sky.
"Quick! Make a wish!" Evie laughed as she said it, squeezing her eyes shut. Going quiet for a few seconds. Jacob did the same.
Evie turned so that she was facing him and asked him what he'd wished for. He actually hadn't made a wish, he couldn't think of anything he just had to have now. He had what he wanted.
Jacob turned her question back around on her and Evie grew flustered, stammering and fidgeting as she looked down for a few seconds. Jacob tilted her chin to make her look up at him. "What did you wish for?"
"It's silly. Besides, if I tell you, Jake, it won't come true, will it?" Evie answered as she leaned against him a little and his arms wrapped around her. She looked up at him. "I had fun today."
"So did I." Jacob responded, smiling down at her affectionately. "I hate that we gotta be getting back, actually."
Evie pouted at the reminder. "Me too." she muttered softly, lost in his eyes again.
Note: Obviously, the title to this chapter is an implication for what to expect with this fic. If you're looking for a burn slow enough to give you the readers version of blue balls, this won't be it. It will be kind of a slow burn, but hopefully not too slow. Again, as I said with the first chapter, I'm trying to really avoid having Bella and the Cullens be present a whole lot, but given that she's Evie's older sister, she will be in here when she has to be. Also, don't forget to check any warnings. Those will always be found at the top of the page if there are any to give. I hope this is a fun read for everyone.
For a time frame reference, this is probably around May.. School is getting ready to end. Edward and Bella are really starting to plan their wedding. Obviously, there won't be a lot of that in here, but it's probably around the time that things with the newborn army are starting to potentially kick off and it's getting close to Bella's graduation / graduation party. JSYK, Evie is in the same grade as Jacob or maybe it's the grade behind him is what I decided she is I can't decide which for absolutely certain and she's just gotten her drivers license / gotten her first car before coming to live with Charlie and Bella.