a/n: Twilight is owned by Stephenie Meyer. Everything you recognize, is hers.

Chapter Two

Try

.

The next morning it was raining. Of course. I wore my hooded coat to school...along with everyone else. On days like this it was hard to distinguish one person from the other outside. We were all dark, cloaked figures bundled and moving in swift unison from one building to the next, our hooded heads ducked from the rain.

I followed a duo of coats into my English building and recognized them to be Mike and Jessica as they pulled off their hoods.

Try, try, try, try. I repeated it in my head like a mantra.

I took a deep breath and approached them. After so long of being completely unaware of my surroundings and everyone's unspoken acceptance to just let me be, I felt rusty at attempting communication. But, since I was trying to be normal with Jacob, I figured I could do the same here at school, too.

"Hey."

My voice was muffled and cracked a little in my throat, but Jessica still turned at the sound of it. Although she did look confused that I had retained my ability of speech.

"Bella?" she asked. Like I was a stranger. I suppose, in a way, I was. I couldn't remember the last time I had spoken to her. Or Mike. Or anyone.

"Yea, uh, hey Jess. Um…what's… up?" I sounded deranged. I hadn't thought of what to say past "hey".

"Bella!" Mike interrupted us. He was his usual over-excited self, seeming to have accepted my new interested faster than Jessica. "How've you been? How was your weekend?!" He asked as if we only hadn't spoken in hours, not months. I mentally thanked him for taking lead of the conversation.

"It was, uh...interesting. How was yours?" I smiled at them both. Jessica's forehead was still crinkled. She looked weary of me.

"I saw that new zombie movie-Dead End. Oh man, Bella, it was awesome. Really freaky!"

Jessica turned her attention to Mike.

"We saw it," she corrected him, "together."

"Yea," Mike nodded, "Jess came with me."

Jessica instantly looked hurt. Were they back together? It seemed that Jessica was under that impression. However, Mike appeared to be oblivious, as always. I smiled at the fact that Mike Newton had remained the same after all these months.

I tried to break the tension...and the fierce look Jessica was now directing at Mike.

"I was going to see that movie last night actually. But ended up just hanging around Port Angeles instead. The movie did look good though."

"You went by yourself?" Jessica asked, the look on her face was somewhere between pity and shock.

I quickly defended myself, "No. I went with a friend." Then regretted it.

"A friend? Someone here at school?" Jessica's face brightened. New gossip did wonders for her complexion.

"Uh," I lowered my eyes to the floor, smudging my boot on the linoleum. "No. He doesn't go here."

"He?"

Crap. I let that one slip.

I gave a nod, then looked helplessly at Mike for a change of subject. He only looked back at me, eyebrows raised, waiting for a description of the mysterious "he".

I opened my mouth, not sure what I was going to say. I went out with a friend-that may just be my boyfriend now- in an attempt to restart my life.

Fortunately, the bell rang for class. And I shrugged, smiling at them, and headed for English.

.

.

After English ended Mike waited for me by the door. He had stopped walking me to my classes a while ago, but it seemed he had no problem slipping back into the old routine.

"So, Bella," he ran his fingers through his spiky hair.

"Yes, Mike?"

"You're dating now?" His voice was very low, like he almost didn't want to ask.

"Hmm…" I hummed, trying to deflect. I had a feeling I knew where this was going.

"Is this guy your boyfriend?"

"That's not your business, Mike." Which was the truth. Although I wasn't really sure how to answer that question myself. Does one date count as having a boyfriend? The idea of dating anyone made me cringe.

"I...I was just asking because, uh, I wanted to know if you might consider going out with anyone else?" He looked at me with hopeful eyes. "Like me."

Mike really didn't waste any time.

"Aren't you with Jessica or something?"

Mike looked down at his hands.

"Sort of."

I gave him a knowing frown. "Then you shouldn't ask me questions like that, regardless of my relationship status."

He nodded, scratching at his hair again. "Yeah."

I let out a sigh of relief, hoping that it would finally sink in for Mike this time.

The day passed by slowly. At lunch I was surprised to see that our table was now full of people. Had the group always been this large? Together it was me, Mike, Jessica, Angela and Ben-who were now a couple, however Ben was out sick with the flu. Also sitting with us were Tyler, Lauren, Conner, and Eric. I noticed two new additions. At least they were new to me. The girl's name was Katie, she was a junior. The boy I recognized as Austen Marx. I wondered how long they had been sitting with us without my notice.

Everyone was discussing their weekends. I slid down my chair hoping that the subject of what I did last night wouldn't come up again.

"So Angela, what did you do over the weekend?" Jessica asked distractedly. She looked more focused on twirling her hair around her fingers that listening to Angela's response.

"Well, Ben and I were going to have a picnic up the trail in the woods behind the school. But. We couldn't." Angela looked down at her lunch tray.

"Why not?" Lauren asked.

"We saw something in the woods," Angela spoke softly; "It was a bear. Or, at least it had to be-it was huge."

"A bear? Here? At the school?" Lauren eyed Angela and laughed, "They don't come up around here. There are too many people."

"We saw it," Angela insisted.

Lauren was about to start again but Jessica jumped in.

"Mike was just telling me how lots of hunters and campers are coming into his parents' store looking for bear traps and equipment. Right, Mike?" She batted her eyelashes at him.

"Yup," Mike agreed, "People want to take precaution. There have been a lot of sightings of an oversized bear, lately. The description being reported would make this the largest bear ever seen in the Olympic Peninsula. First it was only spotted around the border of the reservation, but now people have seen it in the wooded areas of Forks, so Angela and Ben could have definitely seen it," he finished off, looking smug to have some inside intel.

"It was seen near La Push?" I asked.

At the sound of my voice, everyone turned to look at me. Each face wore an expression of shock except for Mike and Jessica.

"Yeah," Mike chuckled, "Bella talks now."

I felt my face getting red. I reminded myself of my promise to attempt normalcy so I fought the urge to hide behind my hair. Angela gave me an encouraging smile.

"That's what the word around town is," Mike finally replied, "The first sightings were around La Push reservation."

I nodded. I wondered if Jacob or Billy had seen this bear.

Mike narrowed his eyes, smirking. He was up to something. He opened his mouth wide like he was preparing to hold his breath.

"A big, black, burly...BEAR!" He yelled and shot up out of his chair. He threw his arms above his head, twisting his hands into claws. He growled loudly and pounced on Jessica, burying his face into her neck, snarling and snapping his teeth at her playfully. She squealed and giggled in delight.

"Mike!" she screamed, "Stop!" The tone in her voice clear that she in fact did not want him to stop.

After that the subject of bears was moot. Jessica delved into specific detail the events of her weekend, which was free of any sighting that wasn't Mike Newton.

.

.

At the end of the day, I walked to the parking lot with Jessica, Mike, and Angela. Mike was complaining about his load of homework. I nodded and groaned with him at the right moments, trying to appear sympathetic. In truth, homework was another welcomed distraction.

"Bella!" Jessica exclaimed, "Who is that?" She nodded her head to my truck, where someone was leaning against it concealed by a burgundy colored hoodie.

Instantly, I was reminded of him. Of the past. The way he would wait for me by my car after last period, leaning against my truck. How he would look up at me and be by my side in an instant. I stopped walking, my legs refusing to move. I felt paralyzed. Remembering was a bad idea.

But there was something else I felt. Hope.

It's not him, I told myself. But my heart still beat frantically in my chest.

"I...don't know," I answered Jessica. They had each come to a stop beside me so that we were all standing and staring at the dark figure leaning alongside my truck.

Then it looked up and saw us.

"Bells!"

It was Jacob. The hoodie had covered his hair and the way he was standing had made him seem taller. My heart slowed, and the hope-which I tried to convince myself was never there in the first place-slipped away as Jacob started walking towards us.

"Bells?" Mike questioned.

He snickered under his breath. Jessica nudged him.

"Who is that, Bella?" she asked again.

I sighed. I guess there was no hiding it now.

"It's Jacob Black. You met him once before at First Beach last year. You all met him." I took steps away from the group and towards Jacob.

I heard Jessica ask Mike: "The Quileute boy?"

"Jake-what are you doing here?" I caught up to him and he pushed the hood down from his face, his dark hair spilling out to frame it. It became sleek from the rain in seconds.

"I came to see you," he smiled.

"You came up to my high school just to see me?" I laughed, "In the rain? You didn't have to do that, you know."

"I wanted to." He put a hand to my own hood, pushing it back a bit and away from my eyes. His fingers gently touched my face; he let them rest there for a moment until there was murmuring behind us.

"We have an audience," Jake acknowledged.

"I know," I groaned.

"Doesn't bother me," Jake shrugged. Then, without another word, he grabbed my hand and led me back to the group.

"Hey," he greeted them confidently, much better than I had done this morning.

They stared back at us wide eyed. Angela spoke first.

"Hi," she said sweetly. "I'm Angela."

Jake smiled and looked to Jessica and Mike expecting their introduction.

"I'm Mike," Mike announced and stepped forward, his chest puffed broadly out in front of him.

Jacob coughed back a laugh.

"And Jessica," Jess added, "You're from the reservation, Bella says?"

"Yeah, yeah. I remember some of you from last year when you came to the beach. I'm Jacob. Bella's boyfriend." He smiled proudly.

Well, that answered that question.

The look on my face must have been a give away, because when I caught sight of Jessica, she was grinning at me knowingly.

"Really?" she started. This was probably like Christmas morning to her.

"Oh, it's so nice to meet you again Jacob," Angela interrupted, "but I think we all should be getting home now. Come on, Jess, I'll walk you to your car. See you tomorrow Bella!" She waved a quick goodbye before she tugged and Jess's arm to get them moving. I would have to thank her for this tomorrow.

Mike glared at Jacob before turning to leave.

"See ya, Bells." Mike stressed the last word mockingly and turned to go.

"What's his problem?" Jake sneered.

"Mike? Forget about him. He's...jealous." I rolled my eyes.

Jacob threw his head back and laughed.

"That's great," he declared, grinning again. He put his free arm around my waist and pulled me too him. His wooded smell surrounded me. It was thicker in the rain.

We walked back to my truck like that, arm around my waist like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Can I follow you home?" Jake asked.

I turned to him, "What is this about? Honestly, why the detour at my school?"

"Alright, I did want to see you, of course. But...with all the bear sightings, I just...want to make sure you're okay." He looked at me apologetically.

"And you're going to be my escort home? Because bears are known for roaming the streets of Forks suburbs," I joked.

"Well yeah." He puffed out his chest, imitating Mike from earlier. "I can protect you," he bellowed in a deep rumbling voice.

I shook my head at him as I stepped into my truck and closed the door after me.

Jacob followed behind me the entire ride back to Charlie's. Parking his car at the side of Charlie's lawn and then jogging up to meet me as I exited the truck.

"Safe and sound," I declared, "not one bear attack the entire ride."

"I know," Jake shrugged, "my Dad keeps telling me I shouldn't worry about it. But you're surrounded by woods Bella."

He stretched out his arm, gesturing to the forest adjacent to Charlie's house. "You've been lost in there before, all by yourself. Just wandering around, unable to get out. I just don't want anything to hurt you."

I blinked at him. We never spoke about the night I was found in the woods. The night that I had to say goodbye to the one person I had truly loved. When I had wandered too far for too long, and had finally curled up in a ball on the wooded ground in the rain, just shaking and crying. That's how Sam Uley had found me, and I'm sure it's how Billy had described it to Jacob. But he had never brought it up to me, never mentioned how he knew about what I had gone through. Until now.

My breath caught in my throat. This was something I did not want to remember.

"What?" Jacob asked.

My face was flushing. I ducked behind my hair, avoiding him.

"I have to go inside now," I said, my voice unsteady.

"Bella, what's wrong? What did I say?" Jacob's hand went to my face, trying to turn it towards him. I shook him off.

"I've got to go," I muttered again, hating how easily I was affected. How easily I could slip back into hurting. I had to get away from Jake. I didn't want him to see me like this anymore. I was supposed to be trying to be normal. And freaking out over a mention of woods was not normal. I turned from him and sprinted to the house, leaving Jacob in the driveway.

I opened the front door and heard him called after me. But I closed it shut, cutting off the sound of his voice.

The phone started ringing, blaring into the quiet house. I jumped to the phone and answered it, desperate to clear my head.

"Bella! It's Jess!"

"Jess," I panted. I leaned against the wall behind me for support.

"Are you okay? You sound like you're out of breath," she asked.

"I'm fine. I was just...running."

I put my hand over my face, trying to calm down. My head was spinning. I felt like I was back in those woods. The ground wet from rain. The crunch of twigs beneath my feet as I had searched for him.

Don't think about it!

I blinked, trying to focus on Jessica's voice-forcing myself to concentrate only on her.

"Okay," she didn't sound convinced but she dropped it. "So what's the deal with you and that boy?" she asked.

"I-," The trees were fading. The smell of woods dissipated. I was inside, in Charlie's house. And Jessica was asking me questions about Jacob, who I had just run away from. I groaned inwardly. "I really don't feel like talking about it. And Jacob is not a boy," I added defensively.

"He's your boy-friend though," she giggled. It was clear she was ignoring my plea for a subject change. "Why did he come up to school today?"

I exhaled deeply.

"He was worried about the bear. Wanted to make sure I got home safely."

"Well that's sweet. He must really like you."

My hear-rate was slowing. I was grateful that Jessica was able to help clear my head. However, I did not want to keep her on the phone any longer, knowing this was going to be a twenty-questions interrogation on my love life.

"I guess so. Jess, I've gotta go I'll see you tomorrow in class."

"Wait! One more question," she paused, "Do you like him?"

"Of course I do." I answered automatically.

"As much as Edward?"

I froze. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. The room pivoted, and I sank to the floor, my hand still clutching the phone. The name echoed. It was the first time I had heard it in months. It hit me like a wave. The pain of them leaving. The feeling of being lost. Unwanted. The loneliness that had consumed me. It flooded over me as I sat frozen on the floor.

"Bella?"

"Bye Jess," I whispered, uncaring whether she heard. I dropped the phone. And curled myself on to the floor, bringing my knees to my chest. I gasped for air. His name repeated in my head. Over and over.

I wasn't aware that I was crying, but I felt the warm streaks running down my face, pooling under me on the wooden floor.

.

a/n: Thank you for still reading! On to Chapter 3! Review please!