"Elphaba!" Bella called, tripping desperately towards her green companion. "What happened to Jacob?"
"I don't know what you mean," the witch replied evasively. It was a lie; she knew exactly why Jacob wasn't speaking to Bella anymore. Several weeks had passed since the bonfire, and they had brought a new werewolf to the pack.
"Don't give me that crap!" Bella spat. Elphaba was taken aback; she'd never seen the usually soft spoken girl so angry. "I know you've been living with Sam and Emily. What have they done to Jacob? Did they brainwash him or something?"
"What would give you that idea?"
"A week ago Jacob was terrified of what Sam was doing to his friends. Now he's following that swine around like a disciple. What's going on?"
"I can't tell you," Elphaba responded regretfully."I wish I could but I can't." Tears were beginning to waver down her friend's pale face.
"Please," Bella begged pitifully. "Jake's my best friend; I'm worried."
"I can promise you that Jacob is totally safe," the witch explained. "But that's all."
"Elphaba please."
"No," the green girl hissed, even as guilt curled around her heart. "Bella I can't tell you." A short howl from the wilderness interrupted their conversation. "I've got to go," Elphaba murmured before sprinting into the forest. Bella watched in pained bewilderment.
Luckily for the pale girl there was another witch living in La Push, and she was much easier to influence. Bella ambushed Galinda outside the reservations miniscule fabric shop. "What happened to Jacob?"
"Nothing," the blonde squeaked immediately. She'd been specifically instructed not to tell Bella about the pack 'for her own good'.
"Tell me," Bella pressed assertively. Galinda, totally overwhelmed, took a small step backwards. Hard, wood pressed against her back; she was cornered.
"Elphie will give me hell if I tell you," the petite witch insisted.
"She doesn't have to know," Bella retorted. It couldn't have been clearer that this girl was very different from the one who'd been with Edward. There was a fierce bitterness in her eyes.
"I'd never lie to Elphie," Galinda squealed indignantly. "She's my best friend. Best friends don't keep secrets from each other."
"Jake is my best friend," the heartsick girl argued. "He's keeping a big secret from me."
"He doesn't have a choice," Galinda snapped, before clamping a hand over her mouth.
"What do you mean?" The blonde shook her head, glaring. "Come on Galinda. What if Elphaba disappeared for days and then refused to talk to you? Wouldn't you be worried?" Bella could see her old friend softening slightly.
"Bella I don't agree with the rules Sam lays down, but for everyone's safety I've got to follow them," Galinda explained quietly. "I can't tell you what's going on with Jacob, you probably wouldn't believe me anyway, but I can let you in on something else. Jake desperately wants to see you. It's tearing him apart. He only stays away to protect you. However he's awfully stubborn. I'm almost certain that boy will find a way around Sam's laws; just be patient. Things will work out."
Boq appeared at Galinda's shoulder then with a basketful of sea shells. They'd been collecting them from the beach earlier. "Bella this is Boq," the blonde introduced.
"Nice to meet you," her heartbroken friend murmured. Then, embarrassed that a stranger was watching her raw, unprotected moment, she fled. Bella clung to Galinda's words of hope.
/
"Jacob?" Elphaba's voice brushed softly through the Blacks' crude garage.
"What do you want?" he growled from a corner. The young werewolf spent his moments away from the pack, which were few and far between, sulking.
"I thought I should talk to you," the green girl replied, moving towards him. "About Bella."
"Listen Greenie…"
"No, you listen," Elphaba nearly shouted. "You're not the only one who's suffering here. Being apart is killing her."
"You don't even know…"
"Yes I do," the witch snarled. "Bella's my friend too and you're hurting her."
"It's not of my own free will."
"I know." Silence stretched between them. "Do you think you could control yourself around Bella?"
"Risking her safety is not an option."
"I think you're stronger than you think," Elphaba insisted, crouching beside him. "You've mastered the change faster than anyone else."
"So?"
"So, if there was a way around Sam's order, would you settle things with Bella?"
"You'd have to be magical to…" Jacob trailed off as his eyes lit up. "Could you…?"
"I think so," Elphaba replied, beaming. "Just for an hour though."
"Could you do it tonight while Paul, Jared, and Sam are patrolling?"
"Yes," the witch responded. "Just try not to be a blockhead and wake Charlie. He probably wouldn't take too kindly to you sneaking through his daughter's window at night."
"I was thinking of picking the lock and sneaking upstairs, but that's probably a better idea," the young werewolf commented. "How'd you think of that?"
"Just a random thought," Elphaba shrugged.
"You know I may actually be starting to like you Greenie," Jacob chuckled. "No promises though."
/
Bella showed up outside Emily's house with Jacob the next morning, much to everyone's shock. Paul was particularly upset. "You brought her?" he demanded, trembling. "Jake this is way out of line."
"Calm down," Galinda soothed, pushing through the screen door. "Bella's cool with mythical stuff; she runs with vampires."
"That's exactly why this is so dangerous!" Paul snarled, turning on the blonde. "She could spill all our secrets to the bloodsuckers." Bella flinched visibly.
"Can't you see you're upsetting her?" Galinda snapped. If someone intentionally waved Fiyero's change of heart beneath her nose she would be furious. "Please just take a deep breath and shut up."
That was apparently the last straw. In a whirl of flying teeth Paul launched himself at the petite witch. Fur ripped across his body as he exploded into a grisly mass of flying teeth.
Galinda just can't seem to stop getting herself into trouble can she?