Chapter Two

"If you don't want to get hurt, never play games."

"Alice!" Edward tried to stop his head strong sister but she was crashing through the trees at an unmatchable speed. They didn't have time for her to flip through the future again. Rosalie had ignored their plea for more time.

"Everything is on a schedule," Rose had commented through clinched teeth.

Edward wasn't happy they were flying in the opposite direction of Bella. Not with a certain wolf there.

"It's fading," Alice choked, and before he could ask what, he saw it. The vibrant vampire Bella, running through the trees, she was flickering. Edward stopped, surprised.

"What does it mean?" he asked gravely. She tried to look forward but it was as if everything was black. There were faded spots of green and white, a random cottage in an unknown forest.

"How is this Bella's future?" he followed with her, looking for clues, looking for a hint. Alice side stepped all the blackness, shifted through the haze looking for a clue. They reached something, and it was so blurry, so broken they couldn't see. Colors shifting in an endless background. Alice focused with all her might but it never cleared.

"You should go back," Alice said firmly continuing to strain.

"But,"

"Go back. I don't know what this means but you can't stand Bella up at the alter." She looked into his future and he was smiling. That's all, smiling. Edward frowned, he'd been smiling since he got back, and he'd be smiling once they'd said I do. What significance-

Alice left him, and he caught she was afraid at what might come up.

"You'll be the first to know," she called. He stayed connected, like she knew he would and in a matter of moments he was smoothing his appearance to walk into the house. Questioning eyes turned on him, but he simply walked over the piano, told his shedevil little sister to move, and played Bella's lullaby for the guests. The confusion of their minds almost made him lose track of Alice's vision, the blurry colors she continued to struggle to see. Rosalie's mental screeching didn't help.

Mr. Weber gave him the eye and Edward mouthed 'a couple of minutes more' and the preacher gladly took a seat. Edward heard his knees had been bothering him lately.

"Bella what are you doing?"

I faltered then, not sure what I had to say. He just couldn't leave like this, leave us like that. The last words spoken between us couldn't be so hurt. He had to say a proper goodbye, and we had to be ok.

I felt a familiar and unwelcome tug. The part of my heart Jacob had branded and claimed beat apart from the rest.

"Not like this," I managed to get out. He looked at me. "We can't end like this." I found my voice stronger. Angry.

I was angry? I decided that I was, and I should be. I wasn't sure why.

"You're right," he said with a dark chuckle. He closed the gap between us and gave me a hug. Not a Jake hug. No, it was cold. It was what Rene has scornfully called a church hug, nothing touched but our shoulders as he leaned down. There was so much space between us Seth could have slipped in with room to spare.

Before I could protest he was turning again. "Goodbye Isabella Swan."

His back. Lately all I kept seeing was his damn back and my anger swam up another notch.

"Jacob Black you're not being fair!" I shouted. I had the urge to stamp my foot, or throw my veil at him. Maybe even poke him in the chest, but I'd just probably break my finger.

"Don't start. It's not the time. It's your night," he didn't even have the decency to turn around.

"Look at me!" he didn't. The house was out of sight, but the moon was full and brilliant and it shone down on him like that's where it wanted to be. And he was standing tall, and his head was slightly bent, and even if he looked like an adult, he was still acting like a child.

"You wanna know what's not fair," he turned then, just when I was opening my mouth to lay into him. "It's not fair that I can't sleep at night. It's not fair my father hasn't seen me. It's not fair that you have the nerve to look so happy around me and you're seconds away to giving your life to a leech," he stepped forward and I stepped back. Jacob didn't scare me, he couldn't, but at that moment he was saying everything I feared. It was my fault everyone was suffering so much. It was my fault that Billy hurt, the pack hurt, Charlie hurt, and Jake hurt.

Jake wasn't just mine, I had to share him with those that loved him. And his disappearance had thrown a shock wave through La Push that no one had been able to overcome. They'd been so miserable without him around…..

"It's not fair that I'll never get to see you blush again. Or trip over nothing. Or talk in circles when you stop thinking about what you're saying-"

I burst into tears again. There goes what was left of my makeup.

But Jake melted, every muscle in his body relaxed and he started towards me with shameful eyes.

"Don't cry honey, aw, Bells I'm sorry," and he hugged me like he should.

"No I'm sorry," I managed between tears and gaspy breaths. He laughed lowly, and I should've been annoyed but I couldn't with him being so close.

"You told me it was a lost cause," he cradled me close, "and I didn't care because there's something so right about us it scares me to lose it," he rested his cheek against my head. I instantly felt better.

Jacob's piece of me sped up.

For a moment he whispered stupid things. Little things. Jokes we made back when he fixed our bikes, and things he saw as a wolf. I was feeling better when we parted. He used his shirt to dab at my eyes, and he brushed off a bit of foliage that got on the dress.

"Go back," his eyes were warm as he turned me around. He kissed my check and pushed me forward. But I didn't go further than that. Wasn't there something left to say?

"This is what you want," Jake started, " You want me to be your best friend. I'm supposed to be good, so I'm going. I've seen you suffer, I know now you're fine. You want me to be the bigger man well fine, I'm letting you go. You're free. Don't feel guilty, it's ok. I'm ok. Just go."

Fingers on piano keys faltered. The guests had moved around a bit after Esme explained the short delay. Charlie was out making a phone call, Rene was shamelessly feeling Emmet's muscles.

And Alice was seeing the picture clear up. The future, Bella's future. Two kids, dark haired and golden skinned, throwing themselves forward on stubby unsure feet. And Bella was there chasing after them, scooping them up into her arms as they squirmed and squealed.

"Just say you forgive me," I blurted out.

He sighed, "I forgive you,"

"Like you mean it,"

"But I don't,"

"Oh, Jake," I was about to apologize again but I swear he saw it coming. His face contorted and his body vibrated and someone shouted but it was too late.

Jake was gone.

And the menacing eyes of a wolf stared dead into me.

Well hey again! Thanks everybody for reviewing! Such positive feedback definitely helped get this out quickly. Thank you thank you thank you thank you! I'm my own worst critic so I feel tons better about releasing this into the world. ^_^