Twilight and all its properties belong to S. Meyer. Not me.

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Chapter Three

Dream

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That night I dreamed that I was running through the woods. Something was chasing me. My rational side told me it was the super-bear everyone has been talking about. But the other instinctual, emotional side knew it wasn't a bear that was after me. It was something else.

A monster.

It was tracking me through the woods, lead by the scent of my blood. I heard it, grunting and running behind me on all fours- its padded paws clawing through the moss and damp earth.

Jacob's necklace was pounding against my chest with the force of my run. I grabbed at the pendant. It was wet. When I looked down, my hand was covered in warm, dripping blood. My blood.

I screamed, yanking the chain from my neck and throwing it into the darkness of the woods. The animal behind me changed course, following the bleeding pendant-believing it was me.

I collapsed. My face hit the ground but there was no pain from my fall. I lay there, terrified that the monster would find me. It would be angry that I had tricked it.

Then, seeming to come from all around me, I heard his voice. It was clear, velvety, and perfect.

"Bella," he called for me.

"Bella."

His voice grew louder, closer.

But I knew he would not come.

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I woke up screaming.

Charlie barreled into my room clutching a baseball bat in his hands.

"Bella!" He flicked on the light and gave my room the once over with his eyes. "Are you alright?"

It had been a while since I had woken him up from my nightmares. I felt guilty for returning to my nightly screams.

"I'm fine, Dad. I'm sorry that I woke you."

"That's alright," Charlie sighed in relief. He lowered the baseball bat. "As long as you're okay." He looked at me skeptically.

I nodded.

"Good night then." He turned off the light and shut the door behind him.

Sitting in the darkness of my room, I knew I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. I turned on my light and grabbed my school bag. I hadn't had the chance to start any of my homework yesterday, so I figured now was as good time as any. When I finished the last of it, I started up my computer and penned a long email to Renee- leaving out the nightmare of course.

The sun rose filling my room with natural light. It wasn't very bright out. The sun never seemed to shine as strong in Forks. I hit "send" and shut off my computer before making my way to the kitchen to make breakfast for Charlie.

An hour later Charlie came down the stairs fully dressed and ready for work. He avoided eye contact with me, no doubt still troubled about last night.

"Good morning, Dad." I tried to sound cheery to ease the worry in his face.

"I don't have time for breakfast," Charlie said. He scanned the countertop where I had set out plates, forks and knives for us next to a heaping pile of pancakes.

"Alright," I smiled weakly. "Just one for the road then." I picked up a pancake and handed it to him. He took it from me and bit off a piece.

"Thanks Bells," he said through the mouthful.

I looked at him. There he was, Chief of Police, in full uniform, gun strapped to his hip, holding a half eaten pancake in his hand with a look of concern across his face and a wrinkled forehead.

I let out a laugh. That seemed to ease him a little. At least I wasn't screaming. He kissed me briefly goodbye on the forehead before leaving.

I looked at the clock. It was still so early.

Not wanting to stay around the house alone with the memories of last night, I grabbed my book bag and headed to my truck.

I had a few hours before school. So I decided to take the long route through Forks. I drove aimlessly down neighborhood streets, my eyes glancing at each house I passed.

One house had a collection of garbage, old furniture, and two large hunks of metal sitting by their curb. The metal caught my eye. I slowed my truck and peered at the window. They were motorcycles.

I hit the brakes on my car. A motorcycle. I thought of Jacob. Now, in the light of a new day, I felt guilty about running away from him yesterday afternoon. He had come out of his way to see me, to be sure of my safety, and I ran from him. Shame panged me. I was pretty sure that regular, normal girlfriends didn't do stuff like that. And wasn't that what I was trying to be a normal girlfriend?

The bikes were a mess. Blackened with age and rusted from one too many nights out in the rain. There was a "For Sale" sign leaning against them yet they hardly looked like they'd be worth anything.

"Nothing says 'I acted like a complete jerk' like a dilapidated motorcycle," I muttered to myself and stepped out of the truck.

I walked to the front door and knocked. At first no one answered. I remembered the ungodly hour it was and started to retreat. Then the door opened and Austen Marx from my lunch table was standing there. He stared at me in shock.

"Bella Swan?" he asked.

"Hey Austen," I greeted him, "I didn't mean to wake you. I was driving by and I saw the bikes for sale. How much?" I threw my thumb out to indicate the wreck behind me.

Austen blinked in surprise and scratched at the back of his neck.

"You want my dad's old bikes?"

"Well, I really only need one," I shrugged, "Are they still for sale?"

He snorted.

"They're not for sale anymore. They're just trash now. So if you want them, take them. Both. My mom will be glad they're finally off the curb."

Hmm. Free bikes. Plus, Jacob could probably use the extra one for parts, so why not?

"Alright. Would you mind helping me get them into the back of my truck?"

"Sure," he said but looked weary. He was still in his pajamas and didn't look like he wanted to do any manual labor this early in the morning.

Together Austen and I heaved the two bikes into the bed of the truck. They were massive and heavy, but we managed to squeak them in. I thanked him and he waved sleepily as he walked back into his house.

I checked the clock. I still had time to get these to La Push before school. I wanted to give Jake his present as soon as possible. I drove to the reservation wondering if Jacob actually knew how to rebuild a motorcycle, or even how to ride one. I felt confident he did. Jake seemed to just be good at those kind of things.

I parked by the little house and knocked on the door.

"Jake?" I called. "Billy?"

I heard rustling from inside and Jacob opened the door with a surprised but cheerful expression.

"Bells! What are you doing here so early?" It was obvious he had just woken up. His long hair was knotted and he stood before me wearing only a pair of cotton shorts.

I blushed at the sight of his bare chest. Without a shirt to cover it, Jacob's chest was broad and chiseled. He looked bigger and stronger. The scraggly teenager I had met last year was gone. I looked down at my feet so I wasn't staring.

"Geez Jake. You're huge!" I still couldn't look up.

"I eat my spinach," he laughed. "Come in," he added stepping to the side.

"Actually, there's something I want to show you in my truck," I said while turning away. I wanted to get my blushing under control before I showed him the bikes.

"Sure," he said and followed me.

As we walked around my truck, I watched Jacob so I could see the look on his face when he first saw the gift.

His eyes grew wide as we rounded the bed.

"No way!" he shouted. He jumped onto the back of the truck and climbed in next to the bikes. He crouched down so he was eyelevel with one and started prodding it with his fingers.

"They're for you," I said, "From me. Like a gift." I shuffled my feet.

"Really?" Jake turned to look at me, incredulous.

"Yeah," I said, tucking hair behind my ear. "You know, like a peace offering. I...sort of freaked out yesterday." I shifted my eyes away from him, embarrassed by my behavior, but also hoping the confession wouldn't let our conversation from yesterday pick up where it had left off.

"Don't worry," Jake said, his tone serious now. "I shouldn't have said what I said. I'm sorry, Bells." He paused, his face pensive, like he was considering something, "Buuut, if it means I get kick-ass presents like this..."

I laughed, shaking my head. "Thanks, Jake, for dealing with my crazy all the time."

He winked and went to work the bike between his hands, examining his present. I felt instantly better. The weight between us had lifted, just like that. It was so easy to be with Jacob. I had to remember not to mess it up.

Eventually, Jacob stood and jumped off the truck to the ground. My truck shook at the sudden release of his weight.

"Go easy! I don't think my truck can handle all the excitement!"

I put my hand out to push him playfully but he caught my arm and wrapped his hand around my wrist. He pulled me to him and I stumbled a bit from the sudden movement. He righted me and wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me to him. We stood very close. My face was level with his bare chest. I could feel the heat from his body on my cheeks. I peeked up at him. He was standing very still. His face was serious again. He stared back at me.

"Seriously. Thank you," he said.

I continued to just gape at him. He looked so intense.

"Bella," he said, "I love them."

I gulped. It didn't sound like he was talking about the bikes.

"The bikes?" I asked. I wanted to avoid any kind of hidden meaning.

The corners of his mouth twitched.

"Yes," he said, still staring at me, "I love the bikes."

He broke out into his fervent grin again and tightened his hold on me and lifted me off my feet, twirling me in the air.

"Jake," I wheezed, "I can't breathe!"

"Whoops. Sorry Bells!" he winced and released his bear hug on me.

He set me back on the ground and then opened the truck bed to drag out the bikes.

"Do you need any help?" I asked feebly. He looked more than capable of lifting two motorcycles.

"Nah," he shook his head and flexed his bicep at me, "Spinach, remember?"

He carried each bike to the garage and then walked me back to the truck so I could leave for school. I remembered how Austen and I had scrambled trying to get those things into my truck. Jacob seemed able to do just about anything.

"I'll be up later after your last class, alright?" he asked, leaning over the sill of my driver side window.

"Oh I forgot," I rolled my eyes, "you're on 24 hour Bella-bear watch."

He answered by kissing me swiftly goodbye.

I drove to school feeling…happy? No, not entirely. Not the way I used to be. Not the same as before. But maybe a piece of happy. The start of it.

I'll take what I can get.

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At the end of the day, Jacob was waiting for me in his Rabbit parked in the school lot. I was grateful that he had given up leaning against my truck to wait for me, too many memories there.

I decided to follow Jacob back down to La Push to watch him work on the bikes. It seemed silly to have him escort me after school like this but I was glad for his company. Being around him made things bearable.

We sat in his garage. Jacob was leaning over a twisted piece of metal, cleaning it with a blackened cloth. I sat beside him. There was no heater in here and the January air was bitingly cold. Jake radiated heat. Sitting half a foot from him was all I needed to stay warm.

We heard voices approaching the garage. They were male and bantering back and forth, interrupted by short clips of laughter.

Jacob's head shot up at the sound.

"It was only a matter of time," he said. I wasn't sure if he was speaking to me or himself.

The door opened and the voices were louder. I turned my head and saw they belonged to Jacob's friends Quil and Embry.

"Hey Jake," Embry called. He was very tall, maybe even taller than Jake, but thinner. He had an oval face that was framed by Jake-like long black hair.

"I was wondering how long it would take for these two jokers to show up," Jake said, his words draped with amusement.

He stood to greet his friends.

Quil approached Jacob and slapped him on the shoulder, smiling. Quil was shorter-stocky almost-so he had to stretch his arm out completely to reach.

"How long did you think you could hold out on us, Jakey?" Quil teased.

Jacob tried to hide his smile but was unsuccessful.

"Yea what gives?" Embry chided.

Quil leaned to the side to peek behind Jacob. He noticed me sitting on the floor watching them.

"Oh, hey Bella," Quil said, "Didn't see you there. This big lug's blocking out the entire room!"

"Hi Quil, hi Embry," I chirped. I hadn't seen them much in the past week but I had gotten to know them during my months spent with Jacob here in the garage. They were always barging in to see the progress on the Rabbit.

Jacob came to sit by me on the floor again.

"They're here to claim the other bike," Jacob said, filling me in. "I hadn't told them there were two, so they must have wrangled the information out of my dad."

"It was Seth, actually," Quil corrected. "How come you told that littleguppythat Bella gave you two bikes and not us?"

"Cause I knew you guys would kill each other trying to get it," Jake laughed.

"That's right," Embry stepped forward, "I want in. And if it means taking down shorty over here then I might just do it."

Quil shoved Embry with a swift push. Embry staggered but caught his balance, then reached out and grabbed Quil by the shirt.

Jacob laughed.

"Knock it off! Neither of you are getting the other bike."

"What?" Quil said, "What are you going to do with it then? It's too beautiful of a machine to just gut and toss, Jake!"

I looked over at the bikes. Beautiful they were not. At least not yet. I couldn't see the appeal of old, rusty metal.

Jacob looked smug.

"The other one is for Bella," he stated.

Embry and Quil both wore matching looks of shock. They stared at me with their mouths hanging open.

I shook my head to register what I had just heard.

"For me?" I asked. I was just as surprised as his friends.

Jacob turned and smiled at me. "Yea. What do you say? I fix these both up and I'll teach you to ride."

I heard Embry and Quil hold their breath waiting for my answer.

"I...guess." I said, my voice noticeably unsure.

Jacob grinned.

"You hear that?" He turned back to his friends, "That means you guys can get lost now!"

Embry shrugged.

"So, we'll just wait until Bella crashes and won't ride it anymore. Can't be too long."

"Hey!" Jacob leapt to his feet, "Not cool."

Embry raised his hands in surrender while Quil interceded.

"You missed dinner at the Clearwaters' the other night," he said changing the subject.

"Yea, I know," Jacob replied. He sat back down next to me and placed his hand on my knee. "How was it?"

Embry and Quil exchanged a look.

"Sam was there," Embry said. He paused and shot another look at Quil. "with Emily."

The three of them were quiet, their eyes flitting back and forth between them, as if having a conversation of their own.

"What?" I asked. They all seemed to be in on something.

"Well, no one's seen her since the bear attack," Embry said quietly, "So it was kind of a shock."

"Bear attack?" I gasped.

Embry looked at me with raised eyebrows. Clearly he thought I had already been privy to this information. He chanced a look at Jacob, who was now focused on the floor, and then back to me to continue.

"Yeah. Her and Sam, they were up by the river fishing or something. The story's kind of fuzzy, but she was clawed by a bear."

My breath caught in my throat. Jacob's hand tightened around my knee.

"And Sam?" I asked.

Embry shrugged. "He was able to distract the bear somehow. He grabbed Emily and ran."

I covered my mouth with my hand. Poor Emily.

"She was in the hospital for a while," Jacob said to me. His voice was very low and somber. "No one was allowed to go and see her. It was weird around here. The council held a meeting about her attack. Sam was called to attend it."

"They're engaged now," Quil said. "Sam and Emily. She was wearing a ring last night. But…no one noticed it." He looked down. The atmosphere in the small garage had gone from pleasant to morose.

"What did she look like?"

"She looked bad, man," Embry groaned. "She has these deep, raw claw marks running down the side of her face. And her eye..." he broke off.

"Her eye?" Jacob repeated.

Quil swallowed hard. "It doesn't move. I don't, I don't think she can see out of it. It's pulled down at one end. That side of her mouth is too."

Jacob's grip on my knee became painful. I placed my hand on top of his and he relaxed, but only a little.

"Was Leah there?" Jacob asked.

"For a little while," Quil shook his head, "She heard Sam was coming and made some excuse about homework. She left before they even got there."

I remembered now the story that Jacob had told me about Leah. A love triangle gone terribly wrong between her, Sam and Emily. Sam and Leah had been together, in love, inseperable...on their way to getting engaged themselves from the sound of it. When all of a sudden, Sam sees Leah's cousin Emily and that's it. He and Emily had some kind of love-at-first sight moment and have been together since. While Leah...well, she was just cast aside. Left alone. I had always felt bad for her, but now hearing about Emily's attack I wondered which scars were harder to bear. The physical, or the emotional.

My thoughts were interrupted by Jacob, who was prodding further into the events he missed.

"What was Sam like?"

"About the same," Embry shrugged. "He was following Emily around, of course, like a lost puppy. And the elders were fawning over him as usual. They kept trying to get him alone but it was clear Sam didn't want to leave Emily's side. Finally some of the council members cornered him and they whispered to each other for a while."

Jacob nodded.

"Did Sam say anything to you guys?" Jacob asked with a touch of worry in his voice.

"He did to me," Embry admitted. "He asked where you were. I told him you were out with your girlfriend. He didn't like that."

Jacob snorted.

Embry continued. "He said that "family is more important"; that the tribe should come first. He said you should be here, supporting the tribe-setting an example." Embry rolled his eyes theatrically to show how ridiculous it was.

Jacob's jaw tightened.

"Don't sweat it, Jake," Quil said, "He's just being a jerk. Its okay for him to get engaged but you can't have a girlfriend? He's crazy. Don't let him get to you."

"Right," Jake said through his teeth.

Quil and Embry must have sensed that the tension was getting thick in the small garage. They exchanged another look and started backing towards the door.

"Sorry about being a downer, Bella," Quil sighed apologetically.

"That's alright," I forced a smile.

"See ya then," Quil said and he and Embry left. It seemed weird to think they had come here in such high spirits about the bike. The conversation had turned so quickly.

Jacob rose to his feet.

"You should go home Bella," he said quietly. He wasn't looking at me.

"What's wrong?" I stood and put my hand on his back. "What's going on with Sam?"

Jacob exhaled loudly.

"He's just really getting to me. The way he walks around the reservation like he's king or something. And all the elders-they go nuts over him. They think he's the best thing to happen to our people in a hundred years."

"Why do they think that?" I asked.

"I have no idea. But my dad's got it into his head too. I can't say one wrong word about Sam without getting yelled at. Sam and Paul. They just act so weird. Like a gang."

"A gang?"

"Maybe not a gang, since there's only two of them. But, I'm telling you Bella, they go around the reservation making comments to me and to Embry and Quil and other guys my age. Ordering us to straighten out, act right, grow up, take responsibility. 'Set an example' that's one of Sam's favorites. He won't get off my back. Always wondering what I'm doing and how I'm behaving. Him and Paul call themselves The Protectors. It creeps me out."

"That does sound weird," I agreed, putting a hand to his shoulders and rubbing them there. They felt tight and tense. This was something Jacob was really worried about. He had never mentioned it before. I wondered how long this all had been bothering him.

"Come on," Jacob sighed. "I'm going to follow you home in the Rabbit. Make sure you're okay."

He took my hand and we walked together to the truck. The woods surrounding Jacob's house were dark. They seemed more menacing now. I was reminded of my dream. And the bear. I thought of how Emily's face must look and shuddered.

I stopped walking and yanked Jacob's hand. I wasn't strong enough to pull him to me but he followed my lead and closed the space between us.

"What?" he asked.

"Is this why you've been so worried about me? Because of Emily?"

"Yes," he admitted, "It happened a while ago. And it didn't bother me so much then. But this bear...this superbear… that's been seen in Forks now. I couldn't- I don't know what I'd do if-"

He went quiet.

"You can come and get me at school everyday," I looked up at him, "I want you to be close to me. I want to make sure you're safe too."

He smiled slowly.

"Alright." He bowed and kissed me on the dark path. He twined his fingers through my hair. A moan rumbled in his throat. I pressed my lips harder to him. He was so warm.

Somewhere distant, there was a low sound of a howl.

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a/n: PLEASE please review!