How Do You Know?

JacobxBella

Rated T

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Author's Note: I haven't written a mini Twilight story in a while. This was supposed to be a one-shot, but as you can see, it will be a two part story. And as for the timeframe, it is somewhere between after the newborn battle and before the wedding, where Jacob hasn't yet received a wedding invitation, thus he hasn't run off yet. Please stay tuned for the next and final part to this story, and I hope you enjoy it. XOXO, SehunsBae37.

How Do You Know?

Part I

Bella Swan sat staring out her bedroom window, feeling restless as her mind would not settle. It just seemed like yesterday that she, her fiancé Edward Cullen, his family, and the Quileute Pack had just battled against Victoria and her army of newborn vampires. And now here she was in the midst of planning her wedding that would be on within a couple of weeks. Well, she wasn't planning it, Alice was; all she had to do was show up. The wedding invitations were ordered and on their way, ready to be mailed off the moment they arrived. It was a happy time for her, as she would be marrying the love of her life, her forever love. Well, at least it should have been a happy time for her.

As of late, she had been pondering something, something that she probably should have considered long ago. However, concerning how her life has been since getting involved with the supernatural on both sides, it wasn't really a wonder that she never took the time to stop and think about it until now. The thing she was thinking of constantly as of late was her love life, and the love she held for Edward, and her best friend Jacob Black. She and Edward had begun dating and had fallen love ever since she had figured out he was a vampire. As for Jacob, he had always loved her, even back when they first became friends as children. Her loving him came later, but she had told him that she just didn't love him enough, that she didn't—or rather couldn't—love him more than Edward to choose him. But now she was wondering if she had it all mixed up. And maybe she was mixed up about her feelings of love for Edward and Jacob because she was mixed up about the concept of love herself.

She had been wondering to herself—whenever Edward wasn't around to occupy her time, of course—what the difference between loving and being in love was. She was in love with Edward and always had been, that had never changed, never wavered. And in turn, she loved Jacob, but not like how she loved Edward. That she had been certain of, at least until recently. Now she was wondering was she still in love with Edward and just loved Jacob, or in love with Jacob and just loved Edward. How did she know? How did anyone know whether they loved or was in love with someone? And was it the same or different? Because to her, even as she thought all of this concerning her love life and the two men in it, her words and thoughts never sat right with her. And because of how she felt about Jacob and Edward, she thought the weight on her chest would lift by choosing one, but it only had gotten heavier. Now she was bothered and she needed an answer, something to help clear her mind about it, to give her some perspective.

Deciding to just ask someone about it, someone that she believed would be impartial on the subject—i.e., not involve her love life—Bella left her room and went downstairs to the kitchen. There she found her father Charlie, him busy cleaning his rifle barrel with furrowed brows. His brows had been furrowed ever since she and Edward had announced their engagement and wish for a quick wedding. It was obvious he was still bothered, but hadn't said much else to her about it, other than he wished she would wait if she just had to marry Edward. If only she could tell him the truth about why she was marrying him so quickly, other than the fact that she loved him so.

Frowning a bit at that thought, Bella cleared her throat and said, "Dad?"

"What is it, Bella?" Charlie responded without looking up from his work. He had stopped calling her 'kiddo' since begrudgingly accepting she was engaged to be married to Edward, and it made her a bit sad. She knew her father didn't like her together with Edward, had never liked Edward, but she didn't think he'd shut her out like this. Maybe him feeling afraid of losing her to Edward was too much for him, especially after Renee took her and left, and the news of her marrying Edward just took the cake. He was beginning to shut her out, even if he did pay her attention, and she didn't want that. But maybe this time, he'd actually look at her when she spoke to him.

"I have a question and I hope you can give me an answer. It's been on my mind a lot lately and I need another perspective. That, and I know you won't be judgmental about it despite your current feelings."

Charlie finally looked up from cleaning his rifle and looked at his daughter in concern. "Is something wrong?"

Bella, taking this as a good sign, sat across from him and answered, "I don't know yet. That's why I want your help, your opinion."

"Okay…what can I do for you?"

"Can you tell me the difference between love and being in love?"

Charlie's chocolate brown eyes widened considerably, his face turning slightly pink from the sudden question. He briefly wondered if his daughter was playing a little joke on him just to tease him, only to see she was completely serious. Looking off to the side, he cleared his throat for a moment before deciding to finish cleaning his rifle later, setting it and his cleaning supplies to the side. Once he was settled again, he looked at his offspring and repeated, "The difference between love and being in love."

Bella nodded, waiting patiently for her father to answer as she asked, "How do you know?"

Charlie took a moment to think before saying, "Well, the terms of "love" and being "in love" get mixed up every day. By this point, the lines are blurred, and no one really knows what is what is anymore. We are talking romantically speaking, right?"

"For the most part."

"Alright. I would say that when you are "in love", being "in love" doesn't guarantee love forever. It's kind of…temporary. Think of it more so as infatuation that will eventually fade in time. If that infatuation lingers, then it turns into obsession, and you yearn and crave for that person you think yourself in love with. And if you are at that point, then you've already developed an unhealthy attachment to that person."

The brunette felt herself flush a bit, seeing as she herself had found herself yearning and craving for Edward when he had left. Hell, even when he had been with her, she always seemed to yearn and crave him. Was she…was she just majorly infatuated with him? Obsessed? And if her four-month long episode following his abandonment of her, then she had definitely formed an unhealthy attachment to Edward.

"As for "love" or "loving", that is the type of love that will last forever; it's more permanent. Loving another person in this sense I think usually derives from a healthy attachment to another person, stemming from something meaningful between you. It can be completely innocent in nature, but if it grows to the point of loving, then that is okay. Like for instance, despite how crazy she makes me and my resentment towards her, I still love your mother. I'm not in love with her anymore, that's for sure, but I still love her because I still care for her and cherish our history and memories. And that I believe stems from the friendship we struck up before getting together."

Charlie took a moment to look at his daughter, seeing her contemplative expression as she took in what he was telling her, her matching chocolate brown eyes alight with fast changing emotions.

"Now, this isn't to say that being "in love" won't ever lead to "loving", because it can. But a person usually knows what they are feeling if they sit and think about the person and how they make them feel, and vice versa. Of course, I'd say exclude any and all circumstances that may sway you one way or the other. But if you're going to do this seriously, think about it without anything that may keep you from one because you believe you need to choose the other." Charlie let out a small chuckle. "I understand if that sounds complicated, but that is how I see your question. But if you want a more simplified version of that, than just listen to your heart."

Bella blinked. "Listen to my heart?"

The police chief nodded. "Yeah, just listen to your heart. I know it sounds cliché as all get out, but a person's heart has never led them wrong. And if they think it does, that is because they are too busy listening to their head and everyone else that may be involved. Anyway, I hope I was able to answer your question."

She sat pondering over her father's words before nodding saying, "Yeah, I think you did."

In truth, Charlie had answered her question, and gave her a lot to think about. But even as she thought this, she was already listening to her heart concerning her personal situation. In her head, she had been thinking being with Edward was the one she wanted, the path that destined for her as per Alice's visions. But even as she chose the vampire, her head and heart had been at war for a long time. The war within herself, the war between her head and heart, were in constant battle even now over what she wanted and thought she wanted. Originally, it had been just Edward across the board, but since realizing she held love for Jacob, there came the conflict, and it wasn't letting up any time soon. In fact, it had just gotten worse, which was why she sought counsel about her feelings. Edward or Jacob?

Like Charlie had suggested, she sat listening to her heart, forgoing every circumstance that put her where she was now. Eyes closed, she sat in silence as she thought, ignoring the fact her father was sitting quietly staring at her. And as she did, her heart finally reached its verdict, a verdict she had been aware of a long time ago and was finally ready to acknowledge. She had been in love with Edward but being in love with him had worn off long ago, probably even had since before he left or sometime after. If she thought further on it, she didn't even really love him, but she knew she would always care. As for Jacob…

Bella's eyes snapped open and she stood abruptly, startling Charlie a bit as she did. Smiling at her father, she said, "Thanks dad. I believe I got the clarity that I needed."

As she grabbed the keys to her beloved truck—the one she refused to give up in favor of that black monstrosity Edward had gotten for her—Charlie asked, "Where are you going?"

"To the Cullens', and then La Push. I need to talk to Edward, and then fix my strained relationship with Jacob."

"You mean your friendship."

"No, my relationship. It's been pretty clear for months now where our relationship really is, but I was just in denial. I'll be back later."

And with that, Bella left the yellow house for her truck, intent on getting to the Cullens' as quick as possible. Inside the Swan house, Charlie looked out the window and watched as his daughter started the engine of her truck and backed out of the driveway before turning and leaving. As she drove out of sight, Charlie couldn't help but chuckle. With a shake of his head, he murmured, "Go get him, kiddo."