That's the Way I Loved You

AN: For information reasons, at the start of the story, E & B are both 18. They are seniors are in high school. Also, text like 'this' are text messages and text like "this" are thoughts. Also, sorry for the long wait in updating! Things have been really crazy for me at work (new job, even though I've been there for about seven months now). I'm going to try really hard to better about updating. I also wanted to say thank you for all the reviews and feedback! It's certainly more than I expected so it gave me lots of warm fuzzies (what I call when things make me feel warm and fuzzy inside). I'm not a total monster so this is an actual chapter as a Christmas gift to you all but I do have just one more thing to say. To the guest who reviewed on August 28th: This is an Edward and Bella story. I hope you'll continue reading but, if you decide not to based on this knowledge, I completely understand. Anyway, on to the chapter!

Disclaimer: Twilight = not mine.

Chapter Two

August 31st, 2012 – BPOV

It's been over two months since I left Forks. Charlie was supportive of my decision to leave immediately. He even took the time off work to drive me – and my stuff – all the way to Harvard. He helped me bring all my stuff in and we went to dinner before he left to go back to Forks. Just after I got to Cambridge, I blocked Edward from my phone as well as all my social media accounts. I called Alice and Rose after I left to tell them Edward and I broke up and that I was gone. I also told them I was sorry I didn't tell them I was leaving and that I didn't tell them good bye before I left but I couldn't risk Edward finding out and trying to stop me. They were sad we didn't see each other before I left but they understood. We all agreed to stay in touch, despite my separation with Edward.

I had about two weeks alone before I met my roommate. Her name is Angela Weber and she has brown hair with eyes to match, though they are hidden by a pair of simple black frames. She's kind of shy and a bookworm so it took some time but I eventually got her to warm up to me. We have a few things in common, actually. Our favorite book is Wuthering Heights and our favorite movie is Romeo and Juliet – the one with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, of course. Our favorite teenage heartthrob is Jordan Catalano from My So-Called Life. We also both agree it was cancelled way too soon and deserved more than one season. Moving on, she has a boyfriend named Ben Cheney. He goes to the University of Cambridge and is studying to be a journalist. Angela is studying to be a teacher.

Classes have been in session for two weeks now and classes are going pretty well. It's still very early but I'm really enjoying my Shakespeare: The Early Years class. It's actually my favorite one so far – the lectures and discussions are so interesting. It's my last class of the day and just let out so I'm on my way back to my dorm with the intent to do some homework when I hear someone call after me.

"Hey! Hey, you, with the brown hair and the converse!" I turn around to look behind me and see someone with black, shoulder length hair and tan skin running to catch up with me.

"Uh, do I know you?" I ask once he's next to me. He looks unfamiliar to me but I could have seen him somewhere.

"Not officially. Name's Jacob Black. I'm in the Shakespeare class with you. This fell out of your bag." He hands me my worn copy of Wuthering Heights.

I take it from him. "Oh! Thank you. I didn't even realize. It's my favorite book – I would have been devastated if I'd lost it."

"Then I guess you owe me for getting it back to you." I'm shocked that he thinks I owe him for bringing my book to me when it just happened and he hardly went out of his way for it. I think it must've shown on my face because he says "I'm kidding. You don't owe me anything. It was no trouble."

I chuckle with him and say "You're cheeky."

He gives me a teasing, kind of wolfish grin before he says "So you don't owe me anything but, if you were feeling thankful, I'd like you to let me take you out."

"Like a date?"

"Yeah, like a date. I've noticed you in class and you weren't afraid to speak up, to speak your mind. It's refreshing. You also have some really sound ideas and viewpoints . . . and the most amazing eyes." I blush a little at the ending compliment. Edward always loved my eyes.

"Um, I don't think that's such a good idea right now. So I'm going to have to say no. I'm sorry."

"Okay, I understand. But, if you don't mind my asking, why isn't it such a good idea right now?"

I'm a little hesitant to answer because it's the first time I'm actually admitting my break-up to someone who doesn't know both Edward and I. It's almost like it's making it even more real. "Well, if you must know, I just got out of a really serious relationship and I'm not ready to start dating again yet."

"Okay. That's fair. Make me a promise, though."

That's . . . unexpected. I thought he would've tried harder and pushed for a date like most guys. "Okay. Fine. What's the promise?"

"You may not be over him or ready to date again yet but you're going to have to sometime. So you give me your number and, when I call you in three months, you say yes to a date with me."

"This guy is real piece of work. But what's the harm in giving him my number? He's going to move on and not remember this in three months. He's not going to call and ask me out." I thought as I ripped a piece of paper out of my notebook, wrote my number on it, and handed it to him. Oh, how wrong I was.

November 1st, 2012 – BPOV

"I can't believe he actually called! I can't believe I said yes." It's almost 7:00 pm and I'm – nervously – waiting for Jacob to pick me up. It's my first date since Edward. I didn't think he was going to call but, true to his word, he did. I wasn't going to say yes but I thought back to what he said about how I'm going to have to date again eventually and I realized he was right. I can't not date forever and it's been five months. It's time to move on and why not with someone who respected my wishes when I said no originally and then waited three months without asking me every day?

Despite agreeing, I was freaking out and Angela was trying to calm me down. "Bella, calm down and stop pacing. You're going to have a great time and you could do a lot worse than Jacob. And, even if tonight isn't great, then there are no expectations and you don't have to go out with him again. Worst thing that will happen is you've wasted one night of your life."

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door and Angela gets up to answer it. On the other side are Ben and Jacob. Ben and Angela are having a movie date night in the dorm so Jacob and I left while Ben settled on the bed by Angela's laptop. We get to Jacob's car and I see it's an old Volkswagen Rabbit.

Jacob gets the door for me and, as I climb in, he tells me "You look really beautiful tonight." I blush and say thanks.

He closes the car door gently and I think "This is so different from Edward. He never opened the door for me, not even when we first started dating."

Jacob walks over to his side and climbs in the driver's seat. As he starts the ignition, I ask "So, where are we going?"

"It's a surprise but, trust me, you'll like it."

Deciding to let myself be surprised and accepting his answer, we start to get to know each a little. I discover he has an older sister named Rachel, she owns a wedding boutique in Seattle, his mother got cancer and passed away when he was young, he likes to fix up cars – he actually completely rebuilt the Rabbit, he's getting a business degree so he can open up his own auto shop one day, and his favorite color is red. In return, I tell him that I'm an only child, my parents are still happily married, dad's a cop, mom's a jewelry designer and I didn't see her when I left for college because she had just started a three month traveling trade show two weeks before I left, I want to be an author, and my favorite color is blue.

Before I know it, we arrive at our destination. "Bowling?" I say, shocked. He just shrugs his shoulders. "I haven't been bowling in forever."

"Well, then, I guess I picked a good place." He says before getting out of the car and coming over to open my door again.

"Strike! Woohoo!" I shout as my throw my arms up into the air. We're on our fourth game and I've been winning all night. There's pizza and soda on our table and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Curiosity" is playing over the speakers at the moment. I make my way to the table and get a slice as Jacob stares, shocked, at my third strike in a row.

"How are you getting all these strikes?! I wish I knew this before I decided on bowling." He says, slightly exasperated. I laugh at his reaction and he joins in but then turns serious for his turn. He's never going to beat me at bowling but it's cute that he thinks he can. He finishes his turn with a seven and comes to grab a slice himself – we've been picking at the pizza, off and on, since it arrived about two hours ago.

The song changes to "You Make Me Feel" and I state "I can't believe it's 10. I've been having so much fun – I didn't even notice how much time has passed. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. I'm glad you came out with me tonight. You know, I was worried you were going to say no."

"Honestly? I was. But then I thought about what you said about having to date again eventually and you were right. And I thought that my first date after Edward could've been with a guy way worse than you – someone who pushed me for a date after I originally said no – so I said yes. And I'm glad I did because tonight has been really fun, relaxing, and I needed this. Thank you."

"You're welcome. What do you say we finish this game and then I can take you back to your dorm?" I agree and get up to take my turn.

"You didn't have to walk me all the way back to my door."

"Nonsense. You deserve to be walked back to your door. Besides, it's not a big deal and I'm happy to do it."

"Well, thank you. And thank you, again, for such a fun evening." I say as I fumble with my keys.

"I should go but would you like to go out again?"

This time, there's no hesitation. "Yes. I would love to." He smiles his big, wolfish grin and kisses my hand before walking back to his car.

He's about halfway down when I call out to him. "Jacob! Wait!" He turns just as I run up to him and plant a kiss on his lips. He's shocked at first but then kisses me back. His kisses are different from Edward's – warm and slow, like we have all the time in the world.

"Wow. Uh, I was definitely not expecting that. Thank you. I'll call you. Tomorrow. I'll call you tomorrow." I giggle at how flustered he is and nod my head in acknowledgement before I go back to my dorm room and, as I close the door, I see he's still standing there, shocked, before he shakes himself out of it and leaves the building.

I lean against the door and think "I'm really glad I took a chance on Jacob."

September 22nd, 2016

"There. All unpacked." I'm standing in the kitchen doorway, just looking at the open space. I graduated last month and just moved into a townhouse. Renting it, of course. It's the perfect space. It has a kitchen, dining room, living room, two and a half baths, two bedroom and a sunroom for $1,500 a month located in Boston. This place is spacious and affordable – I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop with this because I couldn't believe the price for it but the owner just wanted to be able to rent it out and soon, for some reason.

Jacob and I are still together. As any couple would, we've had some fights, especially when we first started living together in our senior year but we resolved our differences and came out stronger for it. We're really happy together. I'm really happy with him. He's so sweet and considerate and we're equals to each other. He met Charlie and Renee when I brought him home for Christmas our sophomore year. Turns out, Charlie knows Jacob's dad – they used to be really good buddies when they were younger. When Jacob's mom passed, Billy had his hands full with being a single parent so they lost touch but, when Jacob and I started dating, they were able to reconnect. Billy has even started joining Charlie and Harry's fishing trips. Additionally, Charlie and Jacob can talk for hours about business, cars, fishing, and sports. Jacob also really gets along with Renee. He's really interested in her jewelry business and I'd be very concerned if he hadn't explained that Rachel and her friends, Leah and Emily, would always force Jacob to play dress up with them which ended up inadvertently teaching him about fashion a little. He also helps Renee in the kitchen sometimes. Seeing him get along with my parents made our relationship stronger and I was able to see he really fit into my life both in Forks and Massachusetts.

Jacob got a full-time job as a mechanic at a car dealership and, for now, I got hired by an online publication located in Boston. They publish things like fun quizzes and have recipes and DIY projects and the like. It's not exactly what I wanted for my career but it's a steady paycheck, I can work from home – or anywhere – if needed and I know, realistically, I'm not going to become a published author just after I graduate. I have a few chapters for a couple of different book ideas that I've sent out to publishers but none of them are interested right now. Things are good. My life is good and I'm happy.

After spending the past couple of hours unpacking and getting the place set up, I pick up my phone and see I have a voicemail from Alice. I dial my voicemail, input the code, and listen to what she has to say.

"Bella! Why aren't you answering?! This is crucial! JASPER PROPOSED! I'M GETTING MARRIED! Anyway, the wedding is in December – Christmas themed! – and I hope you'll be my Maid of Honor! Remember, you promised you would be! I'm going to need your help planning the wedding and it's going to be in our backyard in Forks so I need you to come back here ASAP. Call me back and I can't wait to see you!"

AN: That's the end of chapter two! Review and follow, if you want! I look forward to the feedback! Happy Holidays, everyone!