Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight

Chapter 20

I woke early and alone the next morning. I sat up quickly in bed and looked around my room, hoping that he would still be here. I sighed in disappointment and collapsed against the pillows. Not having Edward there was reason enough for me to not get out of bed and go to school.

I rolled onto my side and my hand swept against paper. Sitting up quickly in the bed I allowed my eyes to focus in the dark to read the note. Bella, it said in Edward's neat elegant scrawl, I have gone home to change and get the car. I will be back soon to take you to school. Always my love, Edward. I held the note to my chest and sighed in contentment. He still loved me. Looking at the time, I decided that Edward would be back soon and threw off the covers and headed to the bathroom. I showered and got dressed quickly and made my way downstairs for breakfast.

I decided to actually make an effort at eating a proper breakfast this morning so instead of eating cereal out of the box I actually put it in a bowl and added milk. I was sitting at the table flicking through the paper when Edward strolled through the door carrying an armful of papers. He dropped the paperwork on the table and kissed me lightly. He screwed up his face, "How can you eat that? Tastes terrible." He asked.

I chuckled lightly, "Well it's easy, you put it in your mouth and chew." I said cheekily.

"Doesn't mean it tastes good." He muttered.

I tapped him lightly, "don't dis my cornflakes."

He rolled his eyes and sat down at the table pushing his bunch of papers in front of me. My eyes moved slightly to the letterhead and I groaned. "College applications?" I whined.

He nodded, "we are almost finished our high school education Bella. You need to think about your future."

I groaned and placed my head in my hands, "you sound so much like Charlie its annoying."

Edward laughed, "finally something we agree on."

"Where are you going?" I threw back at him.

He shrugged uninterested, "I have a few options but I want to see where you get accepted first before I accept."

I grunted, "Typical." I turned my concentration to the application forms. I shifted the forms around, not really paying any attention to the schools. "They are just so long and repetitive." I kept flicking through the never ending pages of questions. I let out a squeal, "they want me to write an essay about why they should accept me? This is crap."

Edward shrugged, "you get used to it." He stood up, "but that can be later. We have to get to school."

I got up as well and just as I was about to head out the door the phone rang. I looked at Edward and then went inside to answer it.

"Hello." I said, a little bit breathless.

"Bells!" the voice boomed down the other end, "thought you would be at school."

"Jacob!" I all but squealed, "You just caught us. We were about to head out the door…"

"We?" he asked me cutting me off.

"Yeah, Edward…"

"Oh" he sounded disappointed, "so it does mean you are back with the bloodsucker then."

"Jacob." I said getting annoyed and frustrated.

"Ok, ok. I'm sorry." I could almost imagine him putting his arms up in the air in defense. "Was just going to ask if you wanted to head over after school but seeing you're with the lee…"

I cut him off, "Jake I can't wait to see you this afternoon. I'll come straight from school."

"Seriously?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. But I have to go now otherwise I'll be late for school and then probably get a detention or something and then get held back tonight and then that means less time with you."

"Ok, ok." He said quickly, "see you later." And he was gone.

I placed the phone back on the hook and turned to see Edward leaning against the doorframe. I pointed my finger at him, "Don't say a word. I'm going to see him tonight whether you like it or not."

I was surprised that he didn't try to argue with me, "fine but I'll drop you at the border and pick you up."

I smiled, "thank you." I stood on my tippy toes and kissed him lightly on the cheek, "I love you."

He chuckled lightly, "I love you too."

We headed out to the car and seeing we were running really late Edward drove really fast, much to my disapproval. We made it to school, alive, somehow and were greeted by Alice. She smiled lightly and embraced me in a hug.

"I've missed you Bella."

"Ahh Alice, its only been, like, one night since I last saw you."

"Yes but I'm not sure if Edward will decide to leave again so I'm going to tell you always that I miss you being around and that I love you."

Edward coughed lightly and I felt really embarrassed and awkward. "Thanks Alice."

Alice rolled her eyes, "fine Edward." She said Edward's name more like Ed-Ward pronouncing all the syllables. "Bye Bella." She said waving and she headed off to her class.

I looked at Edward, searching his eyes for some form of an answer. Seeing my expression he merely shrugged. "She's just being cautious."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "are you going to leave me again?"

He threw his head back and laughed as if I made some huge joke, when in fact I was being one hundred percent serious. I glared at him. Seeing my expression he abrubtly stopped, "Bella, do you really think I would have given you application forms to all those Colleges if I didn't want to be with you?"

I looked down at my shoes, "I didn't know."

"Did know what?"

"That you wanted to go to the same College as me."

He rolled his eyes, "Of course I do. I want to spend all my waking hours with you."

I rolled my eyes at his lame joke, "ha ha ha." I said sarcastically.

The bell rang and Edward grabbed my hand and lead me to class. We walked into history and I took my seat and Edward somehow managed to get the seat next to me, which was previously filled by someone else. I glanced sideways at him and he shot me a grin. I rolled my eyes and dropped my head into my chin as the teacher starting droning on about the American Civil War.

Somehow, mercifully, the day ended. As I walked with Edward to his car I was basically bouncing, well bouncing as much as someone which an injured leg could. Edward rolled his eyes at me, "I wish you were this excited about seeing me." He muttered.

I punched him lightly, "I'm always happy to see you. But I'm seeing Jacob!" At the time this seemed like a good thing to say, but maybe not to my angry, jealous, vampire boyfriend.

We reached his car and he opened the door for me. We were about to pull out of the school when there was a light tap on my window. I jumped. There was Alice, smiling and waving.

"Hi Bella." She said as I wound down my window. "Good day at school?"

I rolled my eyes and shrugged, "the usual."

She nodded and then leaned into the car and whispered into my ear, in an attempt to keep something secret from Edward. Yeah right!

"He's going to be very bored and annoying this afternoon while you're with the dogs."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm sure he'll be fine."

Alice retracted her head from the car and I swear she muttered "yeah right" but couldn't be sure.

Edward gunned the car and sped out of the school.

"Just slow it about a bit, please." I begged him, "knowing Charlie he's probably following us."

"He's not."

I sighed. "Edward." I exclaimed, "Jake is my best friend. You are just going to have to accept that he is as much as a part of my life as you are. I love you both…" his shoulders tensed at that confession, "you are going to have to accept that about me. He is going to have to do the same thing in regards to you."

The rest of the drive was in silence. We made it to the border and there waiting on the other side was Jacob. Edward stopped the car, helped me out and then walked a few steps then stopped. I was ahead of him and turned when I realized he wasn't following me anymore.

"This is as far as I go." I nodded, "call me when you are ready to go and I'll come and get you." I nodded again, "does Charlie know where you are?" I shook my head, "maybe you should call him" I nodded. He smiled lightly, kissed me on the forehead and whispered, "be safe."

He headed back to the car, got in, did a U turn and drove off into the distance.

I headed over to Jacob, who was leaning on the side of his Dad's car. He beamed at me and then pulled me into a huge, back-breaking hug. "Good to see you Bells."

I let some wind out of my lungs and wheezed out, "can't breath Jake."

"Opps, sorry." He said chuckling, "forget how breakable you are sometimes."

I rolled my eyes and got in his car. We drove in silence for a little while, heading back to the Reservation.

"So you're back with the leech then?" Jacob asked after, what I can only assume was the longest amount of time he could go without finding out all the details so he could report back to the rest of his gang.

I rolled my eyes, "I really wish you wouldn't call him that. Especially behind his back."

He barked a laugh, "Don't be silly Bells. I'm not stupid. I'll call him a leech to his face as well." He was grinning stupidly now.

I sighed in defeat, knowing that I would never win that argument. "Yes Edward and I are together, again."

"Well he could always disappear again." Jacob muttered. I hit him on the arm, doing more damage to me than him. I could almost see the clogs moving in his brain working out a way to make Edward leave me again.

"Jake." I started, unsure on how to branch the subject without Jacob driving the car into a tree.

"Yes." He said slowly.

"I love Edward. You have always known that." He stiffened at my words, "but I also love you. I come as a package you can't have me with Edward and he can't have me without you."

He sighed, "Ok Bells. I'll be good. But can I ask one more question?"

I raised an eyebrow in question and then nodded. He continued, "What do you see in him? I mean what's the difference between him and me?"

I flushed red. This was a question that I wasn't expecting nor did I know how to answer it. I shrugged, "I don't think I can answer that" I said.

He grunted and then turned his concentration back to the road, "don't worry about it. Didn't think you would have answered it anyway."

"Jake" I said exasperated, "it's not that I don't want to answer it, it's just I don't know how to put it into words."

"Then why not me? I'm all male."

I laughed, which was the wrong thing to do but I couldn't help myself. The way he said it, it was like a child who was begging for lollies. Jake, however was getting mad. He was starting to shake and I attempted to try and calm him down.

I rubbed his shoulder soothingly, "Jake, you cant really be all man. You're a wolf."

He laughed a little and the veins in his neck disappeared, "I'm more man than your bloodsucker."

I closed my eyes and rubbed my fingers against my forehead. I started to wonder if this was the only thing Jacob and I would ever talk about. Edward, Jacob playing tug-o-war with me being the rope. I don't think I would be able to do it much longer.

"Look," I practically yelled, "can you do one thing for me…"

He shrugged, "Anything." He paused, "well unless it involves your leech."

I breathed in and out heavily and ignored his last comment, "Can you at least pretend to be nice to Edward when he and I are around and when I'm spending time with you if you can't say anything nice about him then don't say anything."

He shrugged, "whatever."

We had finally made it to Jacob's house and I got out the car and headed up his front porch. He opened the door for me and led me into the lounge room.

"Can I use your phone?" I asked Jacob, "I have to call Charlie so he doesn't go over and kill Edward for breaking his rules."

He laughed, "I should say no just to see Charlie send the dogs onto the bloodsuckers but because he will probably kill you as well…sure use it. You know where it is."

I headed into the kitchen and called Charlie. After having talked to him for at least five minutes assuring him that I wasn't with Edward and just lying about being with Jacob and having passed the phone to Jacob who talked to Charlie for another good five minutes and then assured him that I would be going nowhere near any Cullen's that evening he hung up the phone.

Jacob was grinning when he turned back to me, "he said his rules don't apply when you're with me."

I rolled my eyes, "I kind of gathered that."

He continued grinning, "This means he likes me more than he does your boyfriend."

I rolled my eyes and ignored the question. "Maybe you should go out with me then." He added somewhat optimistic.

"Jake. I think that if we started dating Charlie wouldn't like you much either."

He laughed, "Sure he would. He likes me."

I rolled my eyes into the back of my head and shook my head. "Ok now on that completely different topic…" Jacob laughed.

The rest of the afternoon passed without any more mentions of being a couple or of Edward. It was only when Jacob's stomach started making noises that it reminded me that Charlie would be home and wanting his dinner. Jacob drove me back to the border and Edward was there waiting for me, leaning against the bonnet of the Volvo.

Seeing the car approach he straightened up. I got out of the Rabbit, hugged Jacob and hurried over to Edward. I hugged Edward and breathed in his sent. He opened the door for me and then we sped off towards my house.

"Have fun?" he asked curtly.

I nodded, "Yeah was good to see Jake again."

"He's cocky."

"I wouldn't worry about it."

Edward decided to drop the subject which was something I was thankful of. He looked at me and grinned, "You smell like wet dog."

I smiled at him and kissed him. "Better?" I asked.

"At little" he murmured.

Edward parked the car out the front of my house. I kissed him again and got out the car. "See you later tonight?" I asked leaning against the doorframe.

He nodded, "If you want."

I rolled my eyes, "of course I want you to come."

"Then I shall see you later." I closed the door and he wound down the window, "I love you."

"I love you too."

Winding up the window he drove off and I headed into the house.

Authors Note: Hi all!! Sorry its taken me a while to update, been real busy with work. This chapter came by special request from a close friend of mine who read my story and said it was good…only needed more Jacob. So Christina this chapter is for you! Please review and I'll update soon.