Need You Now

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!

Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh take me back to the start

Coldplay-The Scientist

Part Seven-Back to the Start

The sands of time ran out. The ticking clock ceased. Two broken souls departed floating through space and time. Yearning to be together but so far apart. If only it was possible to rewind time. To go back to the start and correct past mistakes. One decision made at the right time could be a game changer-

This was on Bella's mind as she listened to Coldplay's 'The Scientist' on repeat. When she saw Jacob approaching in the distance she yanked out her ear buds and tried to steady her breathing. Beside her, Edward tensed. He wasn't happy about this arrangement at all.

"Hey, Bells, what's up?" Jacob greeted her with his usual sunny grin. He ignored Edward as if he wasn't even there.

"Just a bunch of vampires trying to kill me. The usual." Bella joked, smiling.

"This isn't funny, Bella." Edward remonstrated with her. He was irked by their overfriendly conversation and didn't find the reference to the impending battle amusing in the slightest. "This is serious."

"Sorry." Bella's smile faded as she averted her gaze from him.

Jacob threw Edward a look of disgust. "Lighten up, bloodsucker."

Edward's hands curled into fists. "This isn't a game."

"I'm aware of that." Jacob snapped. He turned his back on Cullen and focused all his attention on Bella instead. His tone softened."Are you ready?" He asked her.

"I'm good to go." Bella's breath fogged in the air as she glanced at Edward's angelic face. He looked pained. She knew he was being so critical only because he was so anxious. It was killing him having to rely on another to keep her safe for a while. Especially his love rival. "I'll see you soon." She promised him with a reassuring smile.

"I love you, Bella." Edward placed his hand on the side of her face, his thumb caressing her cheek. He gazed at her tenderly for a moment before his expression turned hard. "Keep her safe or I swear-" He threatened.

Jacob just glared at him as he swept Bella up into his arms bridal style. She was mortified on Edward's behalf. She couldn't believe he had said such a thing to Jacob. She glanced up at her best friend from under her thick lashes. He was wearing his Sam mask and giving nothing away. She sighed softly, hating that she was continually hurting him, while simultaneously admiring his restraint at not lashing out at Edward.

As the journey up the mountain progressed Jacob began to relax. He started to tease Bella and she reciprocated eagerly, happy to fall back into their usual banter. Their friendship had always been as easy as breathing before romantic feelings had complicated things.

It was all going so well until Jacob said. "Sometimes I think you like me better as a wolf."

"What? Why would you say that?" Bella protested.

"I make you nervous. But only when I'm human. When I'm a wolf, you're more comfortable around me."

"Leave it to you to ruin the moment." Bella muttered as she avoided his eyes. She hated the fact that he was right and that he knew it too. He could always read her like a book. It always surprised her how well he knew her unlike Edward who struggled to understand what she was thinking at times. And he was the mind reader.

"When are you finally gonna figure out that you're in love with me, too?"

Jacob sounded so defeated that Bella couldn't be angry at him, instead she felt ashamed. She swallowed thickly. "Don't, Jake." She begged.

"Is it because he's a better kisser than I am?" Jacob ignored her pleas and ploughed on. He stopped walking, cuddling her closer to his hot body. Bella's cheeks flushed as he inclined his head closer, his expressive dark eyes gazing into her brown ones intently. It was like he was willing something to happen. She was well aware of what he was trying to do.

Imprint.

Bitterness welled in her throat as she thought about the real barrier that existed between them. How could he even contemplate a future with her with this hanging over their heads. She had been abandoned once before, it was too much of a risk. "I don't count that as a kiss, Jacob."

Hurt flashed in Jacob's eyes but he stubbornly kept his gaze fixed on hers. "I apologised for that."

"I know." Bella said quietly.

"According to you, you've kissed just one person-who isn't even really a person-in your whole life, and you're calling it quits? How do you know that's what you want? Shouldn't you play the field a little?"

"Don't mess with me, Jake." Bella warned him.

"You could kiss me, for example." He challenged her. "I don't mind if you want to use me to experiment."

"You want me to use you." Bella hit him on the chest, angry that he would suggest such a thing. "I only kiss those I love."

"Then we shouldn't have a problem."

Bella's resolve was weakening the longer he gazed into her eyes. She didn't deny what he had said. She felt her heart skip a beat. Her cheeks turned rosy as he leaned closer and skimmed the side of his nose along hers. His breath was warm on her skin. He knew her so well. He was well aware of the effect he had on her. It was laughable for her to even attempt to deny that she wasn't attracted to him.

"Jake." Her voice cracked as she whispered his name.

Jacob's eyes were closing. His thick lashes settled on his cheeks as his mouth hovered over hers. He waited for her to close the gap. His own heart was racing with anticipation. Cool fingers brushed against his chest as Bella pressed her palm over his heart.

"You're nervous." She murmured.

Jacob opened his eyes again and looked at her thoughtfully. She hadn't pushed him away but she hadn't closed the gap either. Frustration began to well up inside him, but he tried to remain calm. "I'm not nervous."

"Your heart is racing. I can feel it."

"You want the truth, Bells." Jacob's tone was heavy and suddenly Bella was afraid of what he had to say. She knew the effect she had on him and how he felt about her. She wasn't ready to hear anymore declarations of love.

"I don't know."

"My heart isn't racing because I'm nervous. It's racing because I'm scared."

"Of what?" Bella said softly as she absently traced circles with her forefinger over his heart.

"I'm scared that this is the only time I get to kiss you, or hold you." Jacob's confession was torn from the deepest recesses of his heart. His husky voice was thick with pain. "I wish we could go back to how things were before the bloodsucker came back. If he had stayed away another six months, I could have made you happy. Trust me. You have to consider that I'm better for you than he is."

Bella fell silent for a moment. Her eyes closed as tears welled beneath the lids. He sounded so heartbroken. She hated that she was always causing him pain. "I have considered that." She admitted.

"You have?" Jacob was disbelieving.

"I know that you can protect me, that you can give me a life, a human life."

"And that's not good enough." Jacob said bitterly.

"Of course it's enough." Bella protested. She was toasty warm cuddled up against his hot body. "I'm not enough."

"What does that mean?" Jacob demanded.

The tears began to spill down her cheeks. "You didn't imprint on me, Jake. And don't think I haven't noticed you trying to force it to happen. The fact is we're not meant for each other. So maybe in the end this is all there is."

Bella's forehead was pressed against his; her eyes closed tightly as she swallowed her confession back into the darkest recesses of her soul. But it was too late, she had admitted her secret out loud. Bella bit back her tears. What was the point in crying? She was only hurting them both more.

"If this is all there is I'll take what I can get."

Jacob carried Bella over toward a group of scrawny trees and he sat down carefully, resting his back against one of them, before easing her gently onto his lap. He cupped her face in his warm hands and gazed deeply into her sad brown eyes. She gazed back at him, knowing what he was trying to do. He was trying to will the imprint to happen again. He was desperate. More desperate then she had seen him in a long time. The axe was hanging over their heads waiting to fall. She wished she could suspend time, halt it in its tracks so they could savour this peaceful interlude forever.

Forever.

That one word had turned into a curse.

Forever wasn't for them. It was an impossibility. There were too many obstacles in the way. Edward. An imprint. A whole army of newborn vampires. The Volturi.

Bella felt the tears welling in her eyes. She hadn't wanted to cry but she couldn't help it. She had never felt so desolate in her life. And that was saying something considering the emotional turmoil she had suffered after Edward first abandoned her. Now she sat here with the guy who had put all her broken pieces back together. Jacob was still staring into her eyes, his whole being stretched taut with concentration as he tried to force the connection.

"It's not going to happen, Jake."

Jacob's jaw flexed as he wallowed in his denial. "I'm not giving up." He whispered hoarsely.

"My Jacob." Bella sighed sadly as she eased her head out of his grasp and hovered over him. "I'm so sorry." Her tears spilled over and they dribbled down her cheeks.

Despairing, Jacob rose up and kissed her. His fingers tangled in her luxuriant hair as he brought her face close to his. His heart was aching, his soul threatening to unravel. He needed to feel her, needed to touch every part of her, in turn making her a part of him so he wouldn't have to let her go.

"I love you." He murmured against her burning lips. "I love you more than my own life. I'm never going to give up. Not until your heart stops beating or mine does."

Bella felt his desire, his need. She shared it. Hs lips found hers again and she could barely breathe as he kissed her hungrily. Jacob pulled back, taking a long shuddering breath as he stared into her eyes again, more desperate than ever. Bella couldn't bear to see that melancholic look in his eyes. It killed her. Time was so short. She put her arms around his neck and clung to him, kissing him wildly, trying to distract him from his woes.

After a moment Jacob stopped her. He gazed deeply into her eyes once again, which were so bright, so lambent, so beautiful. "Bella." He whispered. "Bella. Why?"

"Oh, Jake." Bella took his hand away from her face and kissed his palm, before kissing his face over and over, following the tracks of his tears as he gave into his heartbreak. "I want it to happen, too." She murmured against his hot skin. "You don't know how much I wanted it. But the imprint is not going to happen. I'm not the one."

Jacob pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. "You are the one. It's only ever been you. You are the only girl I see. Always you. Only you."

Like they were connected, the echo of his pain twisted inside her. His pain was her pain. She felt it all the time. "I feel you." She whispered.

"What?" Jacob opened his eyes and looked at her in confusion.

"I feel you." Bella said again, an awakening realisation burgeoning inside her. Suddenly she wanted to laugh out loud even though the situation was far from funny. She was verging on hysteria. "I feel your pain. I've always felt it."

"Bells?" Jacob was uncomprehending.

"Don't you see I've always felt it. Like I felt your happiness, your sadness, your hope. Your everything. I was drawn to you from the beginning. You were my own personal sun, perpetually happy, you carried this happiness around with you like an aura, sharing it with everybody, sharing it with me. I've never been like that before, getting so close to someone both emotionally and physically. It was never my style. I never normally relate to people so easily, on such a basic level. Not human beings. But you, you got under my skin from the get go."

"What are you saying?" Jacob was getting impatient.

"Silly boy." Bella smiled, but it was one full of sadness and regret. "You didn't need to force the imprint. It was there all the time. It was such a natural feeling we didn't even see it."

With this realisation coming sooner than before, the sands of time began to slowly trickle in their favour...

A/N-thanks for reading!