[Jess Arc]

"The Vampire and the Wolf"

"We'll be friends forever, won't we? - The Fox and the Hound

Chapter 3

I found myself stopping at the nearest stream I could find. Time wasn't on my side but...I could still smell the dog on me. And if I could smell it, you bet they would be able to as well. Then I would never be able to leave their sights again just because I had the rare misfortune to come across a different mythical creature. I mean if we existed as vampires...it made sense there could be shapeshifting wolfs, mer people and Harry Potters in this world. Me stumbling upon them by my lonesome would be my family's concern. Then we would have to move, and I HATED moving. I wanted to plant roots somewhere for once.

I scrubbed every inch of my body with a pine cone I found while bathing myself in the stream. I was certain we didn't have skin cells to shed anymore after becoming undead...still this sci-fi movie I watched last week, GATTACA, inspired me to take no chances. When my entire body was "scrubbed" then dried off with the strongest scented leaves I could find, I found another obstacle to take on. I reached for my shirt on the bank of the stream and my eyes narrowed in disapproval. I ripped it...for that mongrel. Leaving me to explain what happened to this nice shirt Alice bought me last month. Ugh! Dammit.

I withdrew my fist from the wreckage of the boulder I just cracked in half and sighed. I put the tattered shirt back on with the rest of my clothes before I continued my journey home.

Alice was the first one to intercept me before I could make a break to my room to change. Worry lines creased her forehead. Her short hair accentuated, and possibly emboldened, my drawn focus to her pouty frown. She was clearly unhappy. It was most likely that the frayed ends of my shirt sealed my fate for what she would say next to me. A nervous chill trickled my spine as a new and important thought appeared in the forefront of my mind. Did she see me with that wolf?

Alice's eyes raked my body as she looked for further damage based on the hints of danger the t-shirt showed signs of. A sigh of relief escaped her mouth before she pursed her lips.

She was channeling an inner calm once she closed her eyes. I knew this trick of hers all too well because it was often I worked her up in a frenzy of worry. She was an overprotective older sister.

"I couldn't SEE you." I knew what she meant, but she was being over dramatic. She couldn't see the future 100% of the time and it wasn't always right.

"Because I was hunting, silly. I didn't get back until just now." I was not commenting on the right form of "see" she was using for my own enjoyment.

"Don't pull that with me," Alice grumbled. Then her fingers trailed the tattered ends of my shirt that barely reached my mid drift. "Then there is this. Are you okay? What happened?"

Thinking on it...I never did feed, and that was the main purpose of my venture out alone. "Tough game today knocked me into a tree and the branches snagged the shirt. I just ripped the rest of it off rather than have half of it dangle off me. Dang moose," I reasoned all too casually.

"So, you didn't feed?" I painted on a disappointed face and Alice smiled at me with understanding. Alice's hand patted my shoulder for encouragement. Apparently after three years of being a vampire, my incompetence at hunting solo was still so easy for her to buy.

"Come on, let's get you fixed up before Edward gets anxious over your appearance. He always gets uneasy when you're off alone. You two are just about attached at the hips," she giggled. I stopped my neck from twitching on that cue. She was right. It was normal for us all to be this way with our mates, I supposed. You only get one mate as a vampire. One for life. Edward was mine and I was his.

But it felt wrong. Not being a mate. Just, being so final. You only get one. I picked him to be mine as a human. I wondered if all humans were like that too? One person to be yours until the end? We had forever and they had a deadline with their finite existence. My thoughts began to blank as I looked at the sun as it was minutes away from setting in the sky.

Warmth. Heat.

"Alice?" She was pulling me to the back of the house. I assumed the rest of them were in the front. They always had respect for our sister time at least. Even Edward.

"Yeah, Jess?" She responded before humming a soft melody that sounded familiar.

"Did I...have any friends I left behind as a human when I was turned?" Alice stopped and turned to face me. Her pensive gaze almost took on a guarded stance. Like she was keeping secrets from me.

"A few. But...Jess, like I said before, vampires keep to themselves. Their own kind. It's safer for us and others that way. If they found out our secret... it would put their lives in danger." A foreign emotion flashed in Alice's eyes that I could not place. Guilt? Burden? Shame? Probably none of those. That shapeshifter really f**ked with my head it seems.

"Oh, of course. Were any of them..." I carefully searched for my next word. I hoped to pull it delicately and not scare off a response from her. "Like a best friend to me?" Her eyes brightened as if I asked her the easiest question of all time. Like what color is the sky? Or what is 1+1?

"Just me!" She beamed and I basked in the warmth of my sister's smile. Of course. Even if I did know that person from before, they were not close enough of a friend to me to keep in the loop of who I was now. But he did call me Jessica...Jess can be short for Jessica. But they said I have always been just, "Jess"?

I let my confusion drain from me as Alice began to prattle on her joy that we would move and start up a "normal" life in a real town. My family trusted me and I was almost ready to assimilate to the life style of starting high school. It was...kind of exciting. I don't remember going to high school, so this would be like a "first time" for me. And I could make new friends! Well, actually no. That was another rule. We were just supposed to keep to ourselves. But still, I was excited for this next adventure. It was only June, and in two months I would get to be enrolled in my freshman year of high school!

...

I embarked on a solo trip once again for the rarity of a second day in a row, thanks to Alice's quick thinking. I wasn't going to squander it this time around. Feed and freedom. My only two goals.

As I was within the boundary of Edward's request to not get any closer to the border...I debated getting closer. I mean, why was that a rule? Did we Canadians just hate the US that much? Was it because I didn't have a passport? I allowed my body for the second day in a row to break the rules. The closer I got, the more persistent the question became of if we would cross each other's paths again. The reddish-brown wolf.

It wasn't long before I had my answer. This time, I wasn't prey. He ran alongside me despite being the one with superior speed. He kept pace with me, and I wondered why? He seemed non-threatening. He wasn't hunting with me. Was he escorting me?

I stopped questioning his presence and just focused on not hitting a tree.

At the border, I stopped. I couldn't betray Edward more than what I already had with my false promises of how far I would go. The wolf stopped as well and just stared at me with unfathomable curiosity. His eyes must have matched my own as we each had so many unspoken questions about why we were in front of each other.

Enemies. Normally.

But...not us.

He knew me? But he wasn't a good friend of mine from before. Maybe? Why were there so many gaps?

He tentatively stepped forward to me. Muzzle down. Almost, submissive? Something within me wanted to reach forward and assess the fuzziness of his beautiful fur coat. My body on whim instructed my hand to reach for the fur behind his left ear. Mid reach, I half expected him to recoil from my imminent touch. He did not though. My fingers ran through his course fur and I had never felt something so soft in my entire life.

What am I doing? I jerked my hand back to my body and stepped back. I was playing with fire. Being stupid. I meant to ask Alice about other creatures of this world besides us before I left, but something inside me warned me not to. Keep it a secret for now, it whispered. Amongst my other, tiny, insignificant secrets.

I pulled off my shirt to reveal the tank top this time I came prepared wearing. Just in case. I ripped it down the middle with ease before I tossed it to him.

Jumping down the rabbit hole now it seems. Very Alice in Wonderland like. I smiled at the thought of my own independent journey. He wasn't a human. I couldn't endanger him with Volturi rules. And he knew what I was. Maybe even if we weren't good friends from before, I could make a friend outside of my family? Who knew our secret. Yes, that would be nice.

I turned around as soon as his phasing started. To a human it may have unfolded in a second. But my sight as a vampire, every fraction of a second was absorbed by my brain and seen in my mind. I hadn't forgotten the nudity display from the last meet and greet that I wanted to skip this time.

"Friends again, are we?" His voice flattened me like a steamroller. That cockiness was something we would have to work on. Was it a common trait in his kind?

"Trial period. But… I have a condition." My lips clamped together to protest what my brain was insisting we say. It was for the better. "Leave the past in the past."

A dejected look sprawled on his face for barely a second before he was back on the playing it cool train. "Got a reason for that?"

Yes? No? Maybe…? I don't know.

"Of course. Pass the trial run, and I'll tell you," I lied. He would surely forget the need to tell me what acquaintance he was to me formerly as we began over again. New. A fresh start.

"Deal." The confidence in his voice was present but his dark eyes...they surely reflected what mine were shouting to him as well in this very moment. Deception. We were both lying to each other despite the grins. Not a great start to our friendship, right?

I drove my feet forward. When he stopped running with me, he stopped on the other side of the border. I crossed into the United States and extended my right hand forward. "Jess."

He smirked at my formal introduction. Amusement flicked in his eyes before he commented, "Jess, is it? Short for Jessica?" Oh, the snarkiness from this one… was different from anyone in my family. Yet, I enjoyed this attitude from him. It seemed…fitting.

I rolled my eyes in protest and stuck out my tongue. His mouth fell open. Was he shocked by my action? Edward didn't like it when I did that either. If I could have blushed in embarrassment, my cheeks would have burned I was sure.

"Just Jess. Short for nothing. And you are?"

The man stretched his hand behind his head to rub the back of his neck as he contemplated my question.

Are names this complicated to speak on for his kind? Maybe he has some weird ancient name he is worried I cannot pronounce? Is he as old as Edward or Carlisle? Hey…how did he know human me? Did they not have rules as well for who they interact with? Can't believe I am just thinking about this now!

He shook his head to reject whatever thought or name was presently on his mind. His ebony hair landed an inch above his eyes when his head stilled. Why is his hair black but his wolf fur such a light and pretty color?

He exhaled with a hint of exasperation as he brought his hand back down to reach into mine. "Jacob" he whispered as his touch once again baffled my senses. My always cool body was not use to this...sensation. It was opposite of what I knew. A bewildered expression reached his face as I had refused to let go of his hand yet. "Are you...do you...run at a high body temperature?"

A carefree laugh escaped his lips before he answered me. "Yes, I do." My lips curled into a smile as I was finally able to confirm the foreign faint feeling prickling my skin. Heat. Warmth. As expected of natural enemies. His dark, warm skin was a stark contrast from my pale, cool skin.

What a start to a beautiful friendship with…Jacob. My own, personal friend. Life was looking up for me.

Lalaland972's Response for reviews:

Cool. Thanks for writing your thoughts guys!

Wpear: Yay thanks! I was on a writing high last night! Lol Jess has been a vamp for three years! Feel free to more ask questions in case I am not clarifying enough info for you during this story!

DxGRAYxMAN: I like to surprise lol Glad you may stick around depending how this goes lol

angelacorus: Super serious! I really loved J&Js friendship in Edward Arc and I felt gutted when I wrote Jacob's POV in that ending. Which inspired me for this 'what if' AU.

How dare you (guest): LOL nice. Wait and see if she does. Also, # teamJessica # redemptionforJess