Chapter 5

"You ready?" Jake calls from outside.

"Yep," I reply, tugging on my last shoe and bolting for the door. From a campfire setup near the house, Billy waves us a goodbye, along with a couple of his friends.

Sitting in the driveway next to Billy's pickup is the red Volkswagen Rabbit. Jake had driven it out of the garage earlier in the day and now it's running and waiting for us. We jump into the rabbit and begin our venture to the movie theater in Forks.

"I think we've gotten close enough now," Jacob mumbles. He doesn't look at me or glance my way when he says this. His eyes are firmly on the road. I raise a brow at his statement, a little confused what he means.

"Now? For what?"

He nervously smiles, "You know, Bella and I? Maybe I can try holding her hand? We haven't done that yet."

"Oh, a big commitment." I chuckle; but a large part of me feels on fire and heavy, and I can't exactly explain the lingering feeling that follows. Why am I feeling this way?

"Shut up," he playfully says, laughing as well.

My eyes linger over his smiling face. His square jawbone is prominent and his nose is just the perfect length. His teeth shine when he smiles, and his tight russet skin barely wrinkles. He glimpses at me staring at him and his smile disappears.

"What? Something on my face?" He questions.

I shake my head slowly, "I just want you to know that you are handsome, and if for some dumb reason she turns you down, don't take it roughly."

There is the faintest blush on his cheeks, hardly visible against the color of his skin.

"Thanks," he replies, his eyes averting from glancing at me any further. He focuses back on the road.

When we arrive, we see Bella's car across the road from the theater, and we park behind it. Standing next to the theater entrance is Bella and a dirty blonde hair male. We wave as we approach, careful of any passing cars before we walk across the street.

"Hey, Furiae," Bella waves. She seems actually genuinely happy that I am here. With her smile not looking half dead. "Jacob, glad you could make it. This is Mike, Mike this is Furiae and Jacob." She introduces us by waving in our general direction.

Mike is shorter than Jacob by a good few inches and has deep blue eyes that can't seem to peel off from Bella for more than a few seconds. There is a sheen of sweat covering his forehead, and he's a little pale on certain parts of his face. He probably wasn't expecting us from the way he looks—a little down, about the company.

Jacob isn't happy either about the circumstances, though he's not showing it very much. I can tell with the weakness of his smile when he looks over Mike, his competition. Mike might be Bella's age and go to Bella's school, giving him a few more points than Jacob. And I think Jake knows that.

"I'll go get the tickets," Bella says, walking towards the ticket booth. We three gather and wait for her on impatient feet.

"So Face Punch, huh? You like action movies?" Jacob asks Mike. He leans against the wall of the theater and shoves his hands in his jacket pockets.

Mike shakes his head, "not really"

Jacob nods, "I heard it sucks, bad."

Then why are we seeing it? I cross my arms against my chest and frown. Because of Bella, of course. She probably is the one who chose the movie.

"Are you even old enough to see this movie?" Mike chimes in. He shrugs before continuing, "I mean, like, without adult supervision."

"Yeah, well, she's buying my ticket."

"So, how do you know Bella?" Mike asks slowly. He looks like he's about to pass out. The paleness of his skin turning a shade of light green. I wonder if he's feeling okay.

"We've been friends since we were little. Reconnected when she moved back to Forks." Jake responds. I step over to Jake and lean against the wall next to him, feeling a little uncomfortable with the way Mike is looking at the moment. He looks like he may vomit at any second. The closer I get to Jake, though, the hotter I feel, and I notice it's Jake who's letting off this heat. Worried, I look up at him to see if he's showing any sign of pain or a fever, but he looks normal, except for the frown on his face.

"How about you?" Mike asks. He's now eyeing me.

"I-ah." I stutter.

"She just met us a few days ago. She has amnesia from hitting her head during a cliff diving accident. She's been staying with me and my dad so she wouldn't be stuck at a hospital." Jacob interrupts, and I am glad he does. I wasn't sure what to say–what would be appropriate for a new meeting.

"Amnesia? Wow, that must suck." Mike frowns.

"It does." Is all I can think of saying.

"Well, Jessica bailed, and Angela got the stomach flu, so Eric is taking care of her. It's just us four." Bella says, walking halfway to us while waving the tickets in the air.

"Great," Mike says sullenly.

The two boys spurt forward to follow her inside, leaving me behind to follow them as we enter the theater.

This is uncomfortable. Bella sits in-between Mike and Jacob while I am on the other side of Jake. The movie is action packed, like suggested, and it sucks. There is a lot of swearing and threatening. Leaving me more concentrated on the boys' who have their hands sitting on their armrests with their hands open, ready for Bella to spring her hand out into one of their clutches. At least Jacob is smiling again, and I can't help but smile faintly at the sight.

"Oh, God, I think I am going to be sick." Mike blurts out. Suddenly he's covering his mouth and running out of the theater. We all look at one another, shrug, and get up to follow him to the bathrooms.

"What a marsh mellow." Jacob chuckles as we walk down the hall, passing up the men's bathroom. I follow behind the two of them, my hands linked behind my back as Jacob inches closer to Bella's side. "You should hold out for someone with a stronger stomach. Someone who laughs at the gore that makes weaker men vomit."

Bella giggles, "I'll keep my eyes open for that."

I roll my eyes. The heaviness I felt in the car before lingers inside me again. I frown, watching them as they get closer together. Soon enough, Jacob and Bella walk shoulder to shoulder and in between, I see Jacob grasping Bella's hand. My heart drops, and I feel faint. Bella shakes her hand free and walks around a staircase to sit down on the steps.

"What, I can't hold your hand?" Jacob questions, looking a little frustrated.

Oh boy. I lean against the wall next to the steps and keep to myself while listening. I don't want to get in the middle of this, otherwise it'd be an uncomfortable drive home.

"No, of course you can. I just think it means something a little different."

"Well tell me something, you like me right?"

She nods, but her frown deepens.

"And you think I am sort of beautiful." He smirks.

"Jake, don't do this." Bella looks down at her hands.

"Why?" He asks, coming around the wall to sit next to her.

"Because you're about to ruin everything. And, I need," she sighs.

"Well, I got loads of time. I'm not going to give up."

My frown deepens. The heaviness is becoming unbearable, so much so that I slump forward a little.

"I don't want you too." She half smiles up at him. "But it's just 'cause I don't want you to go anywhere. It's really selfish. You know, I am not like a car you can fix up." She frowns and shakes her head as she speaks. "I'm never going to run right."

"It's because of him, right? Look, I know what he did to you. But Bella, I would never ever do that. I won't ever hurt you, promise. I won't let you down. You can count on me."

He leans in, as if ready to give her a kiss, but she instead rests her head on his shoulder.

A quiet sigh leaves me and I close my eyes briefly to feel the heavy sensation roll through me.

"Well," Mike sniffles, coming up from behind me. "I need to go home."

The moment Mike makes himself known, Bella pulls away from Jacob swiftly, implying she doesn't want to be seen in this predicament. Jake looks livid. There is a sense about him that's he's holding back from hurting anyone. I come around the stairs and stand at the bottom of the last step.

Mike leans against the railing on the staircase wall, earning a glare from Jacob and confused eyes from Bella. "I was feeling sick before the movie." When we don't respond, he gets a little irritated himself. "What is your problem?"

"Now, you're my problem. Feeling sick, maybe you need to go to the hospital." Jake gets up and walks up to Mike, driving Mike to walk back with both hands up in defense. "You want me to put you in the hospital!"

"Jake!" I start, but Bella quickly grabs Jacob's hand and pulls him, but he stands still as stone. Anger radiating off of him like fire.

"Jake, what are you doing?" She puts a hand against his chest, further keeping him from going anywhere. She looks down at their connected hands with furrowed brows. "You're, like, really hot. You feel like you have a fever."

"I don't know what's happening." Jake looks down at the ground, concentrating on whatever is going on in his mind. "I got to go, come on Furiae."

Surprisingly, he wiggles his hand free from Bella's and reaches out for mine, grabbing it with his feverish hand. He pulls me along as we head out the doors and to the car. Once we're at the car, our hands separate and we head for our designated doors.

"Get in." He demands, still sounding enraged. It catches me off guard.

"Okay, can you calm down a little?" I ask, while opening the passenger's side of the door. He pauses at the driver's side, putting his hand on top of the car while he looks over the hood at me. His teeth are clenched and eyes are narrow. He more than furious.

"Sorry," he forces out right through his teeth.

Not wanting anymore confrontation, I climb into the car and buckle up. Jake does the same, placing both hands on the wheel and gripping tightly, so tight that his knuckles turn white. I am not sure he should drive, but I don't remember if I'd ever driven before myself.

"Look, I am sorry." He sounds a little better, but not quite. He starts up the car and then grabs the wheel again, panting and growling a little under his breath.

"You okay?" I ask, putting my hand out to touch his back, but before I do, I bring it back just in case it'd anger him more.

"I don't feel good." He says through his teeth again. Resting his forehead on his hands.

My heart drops. I look at him more closely and realize what I have been ignoring. He's sweating pretty badly. He's not pale, but he isn't his normal russet color either. I glance around the car and then outside. What should I do? I need to get him home.

"Okay," I let out a shaky sigh, "You're not driving then."

"What?" He asks, looking up at me from the steering wheel. His eyes look calmer, softened even.

"I'll try to drive." I admit. I'm a little afraid of trying to drive. What if I get us in an accident?

"I can't let you do that." He shakes his head against his hands. He sits back up and takes a deep breath.

"Give me your right hand," I demand, earning a confused look from Jacob. But he obliges and hands over his right hand, his left still on the wheel. I grab ahold of it gently. "Whenever you feel sick again, squeeze. Now drive while you're okay."

He looks me straight in the eyes with a warmth behind his, and my heart flutters fast in my chest.

When we get home, I have to help him out of the car. He was good through most of the trip, but then as we got closer to home; he started squeezing hard. He remained focused and kept a watchful eye on the road, but sweat started dripping down his forehead. Once inside, Billy looks up at us from the living room. His eyes widen when he sees the state Jacob is in.

"Take him to his room. I have to make a phone call." Billy says urgently. And I do as I am commanded. I walk Jake, with most of his weight on me, to hi room and help him down onto his cot. I release his hand to go get a wet towel, but before I can leave, he grabs hold of it once again.

"Don't….Leave me." He whispers through his pain. His eyes are almost completely shut, and he's groaning with little control. He's hotter than before and he's not looking too well. But regardless, my heart skips a beat when he speaks.

"Okay," I nod to him, bringing myself to my knees next to the cot and continuing to hold his hand. That squeezes harder. He brings our hands to his chest where I can feel his heartbeat pounding away.

A few minutes pass with nothing changing. I start to panic because Billy hasn't made an appearance since the living room. Not even a word has come out of him. He was on the phone briefly. But since then, there has been nothing but silence except for Jacob's groaning. And then suddenly, a slam comes from the living room, like a door being forced open quickly, and before I know it, three tall, shirtless guys appear in the room. They are huge, taking up the majority of the place as they look down at me with puzzled expressions. They look familiar to me; I think they are the men from the cliffs.

"Jared, get her out of here." The frontal one says. A young man comes from around him and reaches out for me, but I scoot away.

"No. He wants me here. I am not leaving."

Jared looks back at his commander, who nods to him. Without another word, Jared reaches back out for me, grabbing me from behind and up around my arms. My hand is forced free from Jacob's, but I fight back. I kick and squirm, making Jared struggle to pull me a foot from Jacob.

"No!" I scream. My feet can plant on the ground for a second, and when they do, I use all my strength to pull forward, back into the room, forcing the young man to come with me.

"Holy shit!" Jared shouts, trying to lift me back up into the air so my feet aren't planted, and he does so with ease. He carries me out of the room, my hands reaching pathetically down the hall as I am carried out.

"No!" I scream again, and this time with rage, my vision blurs and what I think is a yellow glowing light forms around my hands.

"What the hell is that?!" Jared shouts. One of the young men looks out from Jacob's room. It's the other guy who wasn't demanding anything of Jared. He looks buff and angry, but even his eyes widen. Soon, the last man looks out of the room as well.

"Get her out of here!" He demands.

"I am trying!" Jared yells back. The further I get from the hall, the brighter the lights around my hands get until I see Billy off on the side of the living room. His mouth ajar and his eyes parted wide. That's when the light breaks free from my hands and shoots out all around us, pushing back everything in the room, including Jared and me.

We go flying back out of the house, skimming across the muddy ground. My hands burn and my head pounds, just as painful as it did on the day I arrived. The blurriness of my vision worsens until suddenly-everything goes black.