Thanks so much for all you reviews! I'm sorry if I'm late with replies. I'm going back home in a few days and I've been crazy busy. As always love to my Ninja Mafia stothep and fangbanger06 for being my betas and being very easy on the eyes. They write amazing fics so show them some luuurve!
Aaaand finally....Bella is 21, you'll figure out what the hale is wrong with Jacob today, The song for the chapter is Dakota by the Stereophonics and I own nothing, except a poor imitation of Seth in my little brother.
Jacob
Seth had been pawing at my door for the past two hours and it was starting to rattle my nerves. It was bad enough that he had kissed Bella, but then the little punk had had the nerve to stare at me after I went back in the club. I had finally growled at him to stand down. Now the little ass-kisser was outside my room, desperate to get back into my good books. I cursed under my breath when I heard Billy let him in the house. I wasn't going to give him the same treatment and let him inside my room.
Let him beg, the little shit-head.
I drowned out the whining, restraining myself from yelling at him to fuck off by thinking about Bella. I groaned when I remembered how she had felt pressed up against me. The scratching outside my door suddenly stopped.
Ha! Let the perve think I'm whacking off to his little princess.
The whining resumed. I pulled my pillow over my head and closed my eyes, replaying the scene of us dancing over and over again. I smiled when I remembered that one move she had pulled. Her top had ridden up, giving me a flash of her lower back as she bent over. I knew I had to touch it, and when I heard her say, "Sure, sure," the need was undeniable. Her skin felt amazing, cool and soft against my hot, rough fingers. If nothing else I knew one thing for sure – I loved making her gasp and would do anything to hear her moan like she did that night in the water.
The noise outside had taken on a rhythm. Two whispered 'Jacob's to three plaintive scratches and one whine. I let it lull me to sleep.
I'll deal with him tomorrow.
I woke up to the sound of birds and, mercifully, no Seth outside my door. As I pulled on a pair of sweatpants I hoped that he had given up and gone home. My stomach rumbled when I left my room, rubbing at my bleary eyes. Dad was in the kitchen making toast. He saw me and nodded his head in the direction of the couch. Seth lay sprawled under a blanket, fast asleep and still in his clothes from last night. I rolled my eyes at Dad but he looked grim. He pointed the butter knife at Seth and whispered, "He's just a kid, Jacob. Whatever happened last night? He's really messed up about it."
Oh, I'll show him messed up.
I sat on the arm of the couch, trying not to stamp on the acres of limbs spilling all over the place.
"Hey, Seth." I rested my elbows on my knees and watched as he waved at me, his eyes tightly shut.
"Five more minutes, Mum," he mumbled.
I leaned over and smacked him hard on his arm. He woke up with a yelp. "What the fuck, Jake?" he whined, rubbing at the sore spot.
"Watch the language, Seth," Billy said calmly from the kitchen.
"Yeah, dickhead, mind your language!"
"You too, Jacob, or no breakfast for either of you."
Seth stuck his tongue out at me and I paid him back with another punch. "Yeah, real mature, Seth."
He sat grudgingly at the table but brightened up considerably when he saw the food. "Thanks, Billy," he grinned before tucking into a heaping plate of eggs.
That should be my share of eggs.
I glared at him for a little while before digging into my own plate. These Alpha tendencies were getting annoying.
"So, what's the plan today, boys?" Billy seemed intent on forcing us to talk. I imagined him pulling out his rifle as a last resort and making us hug it out at gunpoint. I swallowed the last bit of eggs.
"Need to talk to Emily."
"She's at the Cullen's with Bella and Leah," the eager beaver jumped in, "trying out dresses."
"Hmm...Guess I'll have to talk to Sam, then," I pushed my chair back, dumping the plate in the sink.
"Can I come?"
"No, you little..." I stopped when I saw Billy's face. My shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine, but you better keep your trap shut or I'll rip your head off."
He zipped his mouth and threw away an imaginary key.
That kid's been hanging around Bella too long.
Before long, we were at Emily's. It felt weird that we didn't smell food as we walked in. We weren't the only ones disappointed. Sam was sitting on the couch looking like someone had died. The TV was on but his eyes were focused on a spot above it. He'd sporadically stuff his face with handfuls of popcorn from the bowl on his lap. Seth vaulted over the sofa and grabbed a handful.
"Jeez, Seth, you just ate."
"Stee hongree," he blurted out, his mouth full of popcorn.
Sam passed the bowl over to an ecstatic Seth before uttering a gloomy, "Hi".
"What's wrong, Sam?"
"Emly?" Bits of popcorn flew out of Seth's mouth.
"If you talk with your mouth full one more time..." I'll shove that bowl down your throat.
Sam switched off the TV and went to sit at the kitchen counter, fingering one of her cookbooks.
"She'll be back soon enough," I gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"I know. I just hate being away from her."
I sat across from him, wondering if this was the best time to ask him the question that had been plaguing me for the past few months.
"Jacob wants to know if he has imprinted," Seth blurted out. Obviously, he had no tact. I turned around and pursed my lips.
"Yeah, what he said."
Sam's face was a mixture of worry and relief. "You...you imprinted? On whom?"
"No, wait," I buried my face in my hands for a second to keep from throttling the little shit. "Let me go back to before Bozo the Clown here started jumping through flaming hoops. What I was gonna ask is, how did you know when you imprinted on Em? Was it really all that romantic shit we hear about in the legends?"
"For me it was. I mean, I loved Lee-Lee, but when I saw Em, it was like...I couldn't imagine ever being with anyone else. That doesn't mean I don't still love Leah. I just love her in a different way. Who is it, Jacob?"
"I think it's Bella. I don't know. I love her and I wanna be with her but last night when Michelle kissed me, it didn't...it didn't feel wrong."
Oh God, I'm talking about my feelings. Oprah better film this shit.
"I have a theory..."
"So do I!" Seth yelled from the couch.
"Shut up, Seth!" we yelled in unison.
"Fine then!" He put the TV back on and kept changing channels till it stopped at some music video where four disembodied heads with serious 70's hair crooned over a synthesiser. I rolled my eyes and looked back at Sam.
"So what's your theory?"
"I'm not in love...so don't forget it...its just some silly phase I'm going through..."
I gritted my teeth. "Seth, if I wanted a theme song for my life I would have asked. So either you turn that shit down or I dump your carcass in a field."
"I like to see you...but then again...that doesn't mean you mean that much to me…"
"My theories are either you haven't imprinted at all," I made a fist and he noticed, "or...or you're just weird."
"Oh, he's weird alright." Seth had finished the popcorn and was now washing the bowl in the sink. "He keeps kissing her and then running away."
"Seth..."
"No, you listen to me. Bella is my friend and I don't want you hurting her just cause you can't figure out your own messed-up brain. So either you come clean and tell her that you may have imprinted or just go back to being good friends." He glared at me like he'd done at the club before sitting back on the couch.
Kid's finally growing some balls.
"As hard as it is for me to say it, Seth's right." Sam rolled his eyes as Seth heard him and did a fist pump, hooting with joy. "Either you tell her or you keep it in your pants. Jake..." he looked concerned as my face contorted with the pain of indecision, "you've always been...different. You did a lot of things differently. You could phase back and forth faster than any of us and when you try really hard, we can't hear your thoughts at all. Maybe your imprinting gene is wired differently. Because you're the true Alpha, maybe you can fight it harder than we can."
Great, I was a special snowflake.
"Tell me what to do, Sam."
"If I were you, I'd ease up on the sexual tension. Try and be her friend for a bit instead of groping her at every opportunity. I know it's hard cause you've loved her forever, but she's not going anywhere. See if that helps."
I nodded, grabbing my cell out of my back pocket.
"What are you doing?"
"I need to talk to her...as a friend," I clarified when he gave me a look of disbelief. "I need to apologise about last night."
"Fine."
"And don't use your sex voice," Seth yelled over the noise of the TV.
"Sex voice?"
"Yeah, like 'Hi, Bella, you're so hot! Whatcha wearing?'" He made me sound like a breathy retard.
I flipped him the bird while dialling and then listened for the tone. After a few rings it went to voice mail. I kept it cool and casual. No sex voice, whatever the crap that was.
"Hey, Bells, just called to apologise about last night. I was an ass and..."
"My anaconda don't want none unless you've got buns, hun!"
What the fuck?
I struggled to keep my composure. "Err, yeah, so, err, call me when you can. We need to talk."
Perfect! I just recorded a message for her with "Baby Got Back" in the background.
"SETH!" I stood up and roared as he bolted out the door. Sam tried not to laugh.
Just wait till he phases; I'll feed him to the fucking mountain lions.
Bella
"How much longer?" I hissed as Alice flitted about, tugging at the drapes in the olive green satin bridesmaid's dress. She took a few steps back and placed her hands on her tiny hips.
"Perfect," she whispered.
"Just like you, darling." Jasper kissed her shoulder before going to sit on the couch with Emmett. They were playing some video game and Jasper kept making Emmett nervous.
"How does it feel to know you only win cause of your fucked up mind games?" Emmett grumbled as Jasper beat him again then stretched out on the couch with his hands behind his head, a smug smile on his face.
"It feels good. Real good," he smirked. His southern drawl carried a wave of contentment.
"Dammit, Jazz!" Emmett snapped. "One more game."
Jasper picked up the controller, the smirk still etched on his face. "Game on, brother."
I rolled my eyes at them and fixed a steely gaze on Alice, who was now rummaging through shopping bags full of shoe boxes.
"How much longer, Alice?" I whined and Leah snorted, not even looking up from the magazine she was reading. I was surprised that she was here at all. I wondered if she had built up immunity to eau de vamp, like Seth had.
Wait till she's put up here.
"Yeah, how much longer, Alice?" Emily yelled from the kitchen. Esme was helping her pick a wedding menu.
"Are you rushing perfection?" Alice threw out a bitch stare. Everyone but Jasper and Leah cowered at the pint-size ball of fury.
"No, sweetheart, they're just excited about the wedding. Remember how you get before Paris fashion week?" Alice nodded her head meekly. "Just like that."
"Stop making me feel good about losing, dammit!" Emmett threw down the controller and stomped outside to tear up a few small trees and smash some boulders in a childish display of anger.
Yea, a child on steroids that can kill you, maybe.
"Emmett! I just planted those!" Esme yelled before running outside. We watched in silence as Emmett hung his head, clearly being told off by his mother, who barely reached his shoulders. Esme folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently as he cleared up the debris.
Oh snap, that's gonna come out of his allowance.
We tried to look busy as he came back in. I tugged at my dress and Rose murmured, "I told him never to play with Jasper. Edward is so much easier to beat."
We waited until we heard his door slam upstairs before bursting into hysterics. Even Leah dropped her magazine to laugh it up with the rest of us.
"What's so funny?" Edward strolled in, hand in hand with Tanya. Jasper tilted his head at the carnage outside and Edward smirked. "You really shouldn't play with him, Jasper. You know what a sore loser he is."
"I know," Jasper shrugged, "but he amuses me."
I glared at Edward when he tried to hug me. He gave a curt nod and joined Jasper on the couch.
"Try this necklace, Bella." I raised my hair to let Alice fasten the clasp behind my neck. Her eyes went wide.
"Bella, is that...is that a hickey?"
I dropped my hair back down. "What? That? No...Got bitten by some insect."
Damn my poor makeup and lying abilities.
"Must have been some insect," Leah murmured.
"Leah," I hissed.
"What? I'm sure it was a dirty great insect." She looked innocent before sticking her tongue out at me.
"Jacob?" Edward perked up. Leah did a double take; a guilty look crossed her face.
Damn mind reader.
Edward strode up and touched my neck. "Jacob did this to you?"
"It's no big deal." I pushed his cool fingers away. "It was an accident."
"Oh, so he tripped and he bit your neck to keep from falling?"
Note to self: lie better.
"I don't want to talk about it," I raised my voice, "especially when everyone in the room has super hearing and is looking for gossip like the old ladies at Tina's Salon."
Oh, the horrific perms.
I shuddered.
"Fine," I could hear the concern in his voice. "He better not be hurting you."
"He's not." I touched the necklace while pulling my hair down to cover the badly concealed mark.
"You look beautiful, Bella." Tanya slipped her hand through his, resting her head on his shoulder. "She really does. This is gonna knock Jacob...I mean, whomever you're bringing to the wedding, off his feet."
"I'm going with Seth...as friends."
"That's great, Bella, the kid needs some...you kissed him?"
"Leah, can you control your thoughts for just one second?" I stepped off the footstool, almost falling over in the ridiculously high heels.
After the ceremony, someone's gonna find these in the woods. Designer one-offs be damned!
"You KISSED Seth?" Edward ran his hand through his copper hair and for a moment I wondered what Jake would look like with Edward's permanent sex hair.
Not a good time, Bella. Your ex is freaking out like a claustrophobic trapped in an elevator.
"Will you please calm down?" I grabbed the arm Tanya wasn't holding and tried unsuccessfully to shake some sense into him.
"How does he feel about this?"
"I don't know and can you please stop making it sound like I molested him against the DJ console?"
"No, we DON'T have a bromance, Emmett and if you have something to say I suggest you stop pouting upstairs and come say it to my face!" Edward yelled past me towards the stairs. A door banged in response.
"Can we talk about this later? Pleeease?" I whined under my breath.
"Edward," a hint of a threat laced Tanya's voice.
"Fine," he relented. "Later."
I knew I wouldn't be able to put the discussion off for long, but for now I was going to enjoy my day with the Cullens. I laughed and envied Leah when she tried on her dress, her athletic form filling out the beautiful halter style Alice had picked for her. For someone who was barefoot or in sneakers most of the time, she practically glided on heels. I said a silent prayer for the fate of Seth's toes and comforted myself by knowing that he'd heal soon enough.
"Remember, Bella, we have to practice for the first dance next weekend." Alice hung off the truck door, her eyes shining with the prospect of making me stumble about in the death traps strapped to my feet.
RIP toes, RIP.
Seth hopped into the passenger seat when I picked him up from outside my house. Charlie came to my side of the truck and kissed me on the forehead.
"I feel like I hardly saw you this weekend."
"Sorry, Dad. I promise next weekend you and I will spend one whole day together," his face fell, "...but you promised Billy you'll go fishing, so we'll just have to do brunch."
"Atta girl." He looked past me at Seth. "You look after my girl, you hear? And you make sure he doesn't get into trouble, Bells."
"Yes, sir!" Seth saluted and laughed.
"See you next weekend, Dad." I waved and waited as Charlie went back inside the house.
"So, did you listen to your messages?" Seth asked as I checked the mirror for oncoming traffic.
"No." I scrambled for my phone. "I really need to stop leaving it in my bag." It showed that I had one new message.
"Jacob," I murmured. "I mean, not that I care or anything." I shot a nervous grin at Seth.
There you go...keep it cool. Light and breezy... aaaand do a hair flip before you listen to the message...perfect!
My eyes widened as I listened to him stutter through the message. I stared at the screen for a few moments before looking over at Seth, who was laughing like an idiot.
"Baby. Got. Back?"
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