I lay asleep, wrapped in a wonderful, unusual, dreamless sleep. It was late Saturday morning…I hadn't get regained the state of mind to care what month it was, so I didn't know. All I knew was it was warm enough in the mornings to not have to drink a gallon of hot chocolate until I could breathe properly. Groaning as the black void started to pull me in, I forced myself into consciousness, my eyes opening abruptly, sitting bolt upright. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find my best friend, Jacob Black, set on the end of my bed, looking intently at me. "Jake?" I choked out, my voice hoarse.
He grinned at me, my blinding, happy smile I loved best. "Hey Bells." He said, his voice shockingly deep. When had that happened? I felt my lips turn up in an automatic response, a genuine smile. Thank God for Jacob. "I sat up too quickly…" I mumbled, lying down again in a hurry, the air rushing from my lungs. "Would waffles get you out of bed?" he asked slyly. Dammit. He knew me only too well. I cracked an eye open. "…Waffles?" I repeated, slowly. Jake chuckled. "Yeah. Waffles."
Amazed by a sudden wave of cheer, I bounded to my feet and laughed, grabbing Jacob's hands and dancing with him, swinging our arms like kids. He laughed and played along, twirling me. Unfortunately, I tripped over his foot, and struggling to stay up, I took him down with me. We collapsed in a heap, laughing, our breathing ragged. It was only then I noticed there was a video recorder sitting on top of my desk by the wall, recording everything we did. Jacob was faster on the uptake, leaping to his feet and grabbing the tape out of it, stashing it in his pocket. I was too annoyed to begin to fathom why Jacob had been recording me sleeping.
"Jake!" I wailed, my eyes widening with horror as I climbed to my feet. He did his best abashed expression…but he didn't move to hand the tape over. I rested my hands on either of my hips, trying my hardest for a stern expression. "Give me the tape, Jacob." I said quietly, the danger in my voice evident. "Nope." He replied cheerfully, the grin returning. Ignoring the case of the fuzzies it gave me, I sighed. "Fine. You earned it." I warned him, then pounced, jumping on his back. He laughed and hitched my legs through his arms, holding me up. "Let's go, short stuff." He teased me, setting off at a jog for the kitchen. I screamed, clinging to him to stay up. When he stopped, I took advantage of our stationary state and dug a hand into the shiny black hair I loved so much, and tugged, not gently, but careful not to pull any out. "Surrender!" I whooped, still out of breath from the second type of second-hand running trauma I had experienced in my life. Jacob howled with pain, exaggerating it for my conscience's benefit, no doubt.
It seemed Jacob's hair was some kind of pressure point, because as I pulled it, he howled with pain, his knees collapsing as he crumpled to the floor. I somehow ended up pinned beneath him, a grimace of pain and discomfort contorting my features. I shoved heartily at his chest, and he seemed to know what I wanted him to do, rolling backwards onto his back. I was thankful I was such a clean freak for once; the wooden floor of the kitchen happened to be clean. I crawled over him and sat on his waist, narrowing my eyes down at him. His expression was amused, his dark eyes twinkling. "My tape." I told him simply. He shook his head, grinning. "You still have it wrong, Bells. My tape of you." I blinked. "You do know how wrong that sounds…right Jake?" I told him, a wry smile quirking my lips, my anger fading, as it often did when I was around Jacob.
Jacob tilted his head to the side, seeming to read it over. "Wow." He said quietly, looking up me admiringly. "For once, I actually can't find anything dirty about it. It must be your mind in the gutter. And I'm the middle-aged one. I should be sad and constantly horny." I laughed at this, remembering our game about hypothetical ages based on our knowledge of the world. Then I was serious again, leaning over him, trying to look menacing. I highly doubt that I succeeded. "Jacob…give me the tape, or I'll nipple cripple you." I paused, snickering. "Yeah, mature, I know." Jake seemed to have other ideas. "Don't think so…" he mumbled, flipping me over onto my back, pinning my arms over my head. All the air whooshed out of my lungs in one go, winding me. I raised my eyebrows, annoyed by his unfair display of strength.
Jacob simply grinned in a devilish way that should be illegal. I felt my bad temper dissolve…a bad sign. Especially because of the particularly line-blurring position we were in; Jacob was pinning me to the ground with his body, one of his hands pressing both of my small, fragile wrists to the ground, the other carrying the excess of his weight. I narrowed my eyes, the irritation returning; he was too heavy to be on top of me like this. I lifted a knee and jabbed him hard between the legs. He gritted his teeth, but didn't move. His dark eyes twinkled. "Oh, ow. Are we playing not-s0-nice now?" he asked in a discomforting, sly tone. My cheeks flushed, with mingled annoyance and chagrin. "Mean little thing." He added affectionately.
"You're meaner." I grumbled, irked that my plan for escape hadn't worked. Jake laughed, much to my further exasperation. "How so?" he asked, laugher still in his voice. "Because I'm still on my back!" I wailed, pouting. He chuckled again, his body shaking against mine with the movement. "Aha, but Bell, if I hadn't flipped you, I would still be on my back, too." He told me in a smug voice. I wasn't amused, and my expression apparently showed it. He stopped laughing and frowned, putting on what I'm sure he knew was his best puppy face. "So you're willing to go through all this…just to get a tape of you happy dancing?" he questioned in a soft voice, his ebony eyes burning with intensity. "Yes!" I shrieked in response, my anger returning. I snatched onto it gratefully, pleased for an chance to save the lines we kept blurring.
"But it was cute." Jacob told me, his intonation that of an adult explaining something to someone of their junior…or someone perhaps less intelligent. I growled with frustration, wriggling to try and get free. "It…can't be…cute!" I protested through my struggles. "Being as uncoordinated…as I am, I'm…sure it wasn't." Jacob seemed amused by this; he laughed harder than ever, though that was maybe observing my obviously futile attempts to escape his clutches. "Psht." He dismissed my claims casually, rolling his eyes. "I'm an honest guy. And it was cute, miss bunny." He teased, referring to the tank top from my early adolesence I had worn to bed. I raised my eyebrows. "Bunnies also have sharp teeth." I reminded him, a sly grin quirking my lips. Damn. Line blurring time.