AN: Hey guys. I'm so glad you like my story and bothered to review. Thanks. Keep on voicing your thoughts; I love them all.
For those of you who never had a chance to read my summary of Bad Reputation and are therefore lost as to why Bella pursued Jacob I'll sum it up again in really short and in Twilight version.
When Bella and Jacob were twelve they were in school together, but never spoke. Jake came over to her house out of the blue and asked her to come out to play. He gave her her first kiss that day by a huge rock and every day since he came over to kiss her again. They still never spoke at school. When he turned 13, he had a big party with school friends and family and she was invited. He didn't acknowledge her existence, but when she went to the bathroom he followed her and they snuck off to make out again. Later that week there was a dance and he danced with her in front of everyone. When they snuck off outside, her friends caught her kissing him. He took off and she had to deal with her friends accusing her of bad behavior. They claimed she could get a bad reputation from what she was doing and they would want no part of her friendship. Upon their threat, the next time Jacob came over after school Bella pretended to not be home. He never came back and Bella's regretted it ever since.
Do things make better sense now? I hope so. Now on to the story.
I don't own Twilight or Bad Reputation.
Chapter 5 — Completely Hooked
The next morning I awoke for school elated. I showered and I took a good look in the mirror to decide my outfit. I had my slightly less green hair in a smooth pony with my bangs held to the side nicely with a pink bowed bobby pin. I somehow always managed to put pink in my ensemble. My outfit was carefully coordinated in greens and blues, a pleated skirt with a Louie Hertz dress top. I just used a light eye shadow and pink lipstick. My cheeks were still flushed from last night.
I walked out of my house to a surprise. There leaning against the driver side of my car was Jacob. He was wearing his hair in his usual pony and a big smile on his face. I paused for a second and then began to walk towards him when someone called out my name from my house. I turned around and my mom opened the front door.
"Honey, you forgot your purse," my mother informed me, holding it out.
"Oh! Thanks." I took my purse from her.
I turned to face my car, but Jacob was gone. I searched around in case he was hiding, but he vanished.
When I got to school, I had expected people to react to my hair. I kept an eye out for Jacob, but I didn't spot him on my way to homeroom trigonometry.
"What happened to your hair?" the girl in front of me gawked.
"What do you mean?" I feigned surprise. "Is my pony crooked?"
Some people giggled and the girl's cheeks pinked. I pulled out my small mirror from my bag to check my makeup. It was perfect.
"If everyone is finished, I would like to begin class now," Mr. Varner announced.
During second period and on to lunch similar stares occurred. I didn't mind the attention – I loved it, but I was getting tired of the question "What happened?" I mean isn't it obvious I dyed my hair green. Jacob ditched chemistry again. I was a little anxious to see him. Would he stare at me like he used to back in seventh grade after he kissed me?
At lunch I sat down in my usual spot with Asia and Rosalie. We slowly ate our plain bagels and mystery lunch meal from the cafeteria wondering how many Calories we were ingesting. Rose leaned over to me.
"So how was it?"
"Huh?" I questioned. I was kind of distracted.
"Your date. You went to the movies with Volcano, right?" she elaborated.
"Oh yes." I felt a blush come over my face. These were my friends and I usually shared everything with them, but they didn't know about my v-status being changed and I wasn't about to enlighten them now.
"So how was it?" Asia repeated.
"Fine. The movie was dull and we left early," I said. I saw from the corner of my eye Angela hurried towards us.
"So what did you do instead?" Rose asked.
"Well when he drove me home he—"
"I need to talk to you," Angela interrupted.
"Okay." Her expression had me fearful.
"Out in the hall," she directed.
We exited quietly and then she rounded on me. "I just heard Volcano and his friends boasting away about their weekend on the grass outside.
Oh crap! "Really?" my voice squeaked. "What were they saying?"
"The usual trouble-causing antics, but then Ugly Moe asked about 'the green haired chick.' He wanted to know if he 'nailed' you."
I knew my face must have turned white. It felt cold and my stomach hollow despite the meal I just had. I never really cared what others thought of me, but that was when I knew there wasn't much to gossip about. If people thought I was a slut that would really hurt. I took an audible gulp and asked her to continue.
"The jerk said 'not yet.' Could you believe that?"
I was in shock. He lied. "No," I whispered.
"Look I get it," she explained. "We all get crushes on the bad boy every once in a while, but you have to take his intensions seriously. Volcano is not just a bad boy, he's THE bad boy—the leader of the pack. He gets into detention every day. I don't think continuing this infatuation is safe. I don't think he takes 'No' for an answer."
I smiled. "You are such a good friend and I know you have my back. Don't worry, I could handle him. He can't make me do anything I don't want to do."
"Really?" she stated in a sarcastic tone then she looked up at my hair meaningfully.
"I wanted to do that! A little change. It's not permanent remember?"
"Yeah well losing your virginity is. Volcano is not the one you should lose it to."
I kept quiet for a moment. "I won't." That wasn't actually a lie.
She looked wary then said, "Okay. Let's get back in there. I'm absolutely starving."
I still hadn't seen him as the day wore on. I began to doubt if he really showed up by my house that morning.
As the days passed Jacob still didn't call. I noticed him from time to time in the halls when I walked from my classes with my friends. He paid me no attention. So much for not feeling like shit.
My hair grew less and less green as the weekend approached. I was beginning to miss the shock of color in the mirror and made a mental note to pick up the spray-in color cans I saw in the store. I needed the pick-me-up.
Friday after school I was slightly saddened. Jacob still hadn't called or paid me much attention. I was beginning to think he was avoiding me. I drove home alone, not in the mood to hang out with the girls. I walked into my empty house and pulled out my homework.
My cell phone tune suddenly rang. I sang quietly along as I lifted the phone out of my purse.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Hey, it's me," the voice said.
"Hey . . . you. I'm not clear who this is," I spoke hesitantly.
"It's Volcano," he said sounding a bit hurt. "So I noticed you're home alone."
My stomach knotted to the unnerving truth. "How did you know that?"
"I'm outside."
I peeked out of my second story bedroom window and saw him sitting on his motorcycle, holding a cell phone to his ear. He removed his sunglasses and waved. "I'll be out in a minute."
I shut my phone and went out closing the door behind me. He looked so suave leaning against his bike in his black denim and leather jacket. I walked directly into his awaiting arms.
"You missed me?" he asked playfully.
"Yeah," I nodded.
"Good." His hand lifted my face and our lips met.
His kisses kept getting better each time. I wanted to really get a good hold of him, but I had nosy neighbors. I just slowly slipped my face downward to separate us before we put on a show.
"My hair is almost back to the original. Do you have a color preference for this weekend?" I hinted hoping he would decide to take me out.
"Why? You interested in shocking my mother again?"
"Maybe. Are you asking me out?" I simplified.
He paused and gave me a thoughtful expression. "You seriously like me?"
"You still haven't figured that out? You think I just sleep with anybody?" I whispered.
"Okay purple, but for the record I still think you wanted a date for a bet. Only, I'm the one that won."
"You?"
"Yeah. I hit the jackpot," he chortled. I smiled as he bent down to kiss me again.
"You know it's hard to approach you when you're surrounded by your friends," he whispered in my ear.
"Is that the reason you didn't acknowledge me in school?" I asked.
He nodded. "I thought you would want to keep our connection a secret."
"So you lied to your friends?"
"What are you talking about?" he asked confused.
"My friend Angela overheard you say you hadn't 'nailed' me yet."
"Oh." His face smoothed out leaving him expressionless.
"You could've just said no. Why add the 'not yet?'"
"Well I didn't want them to think I couldn't, when obviously I can. But I thought if the whole school knew, I would never get a chance again." He smiled. "Speaking of which . . ." he pulled me toward my house.
"Are you nuts? My mom is going to be home any minute," I explained. "I can't have any boys in my house. It will lead to questions and I'm avoiding the 'sex' talk with them."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, my parents are very thorough."
He shivered. "Yuck!"
"Yeah." I averted my eyes.
"You hungry?" he asked.
"Yes," I smiled.
"Well hop on princess."
He handed me his helmet and we mounted his bike. He kick-started the motorcycle and a loud vroom burst as he revved up the engine. Then we drove off.
We arrived at a pizza place in his neighborhood. I hopped off first and handed him his helmet. I began to walk in, but he pulled me back by my waist.
"Hold on," he commented. He locked up his Harley and took my hand so we could walk in together.
We ordered a few slices and talked a little about the past week. I told him about my friends and he enlightened me on the real names of the three stooges. "Larry" was really Paul. He went by the nickname "Shorty," ironic since he was so tall. The nickname actually referred to his temper. It was shorter than Jacob's. "Moe's" real name was James. And "Curly," he was just called "Muscles." No one knew his name for a long time. Jacob snuck into the offices once and discovered his name was Emmett, but I was supposed to keep that to myself. Jacob absolutely loved the name I referred them by and vowed to collectively call them so from now on.
"What did you guys call me? I mean if they were the three stooges, who was I?" he asked jesting.
"You didn't have another name. We only called them that because we didn't know their names. And there was no way any of us was going to ask. Everyone knew you right away. You're Volcano, the leader of the pack. I still like the name Jacob, though." He gave me an awkward smile.
The more we talked the more real Jacob became. No more the figment of my dreams, he was a person with ideas and feelings. He had been expelled out of every school he attended since ninth. A fact he wasn't proud of. His mother, Sarah, was a high school teacher by profession. She would homeschool him after each incident. Though Jacob loved angering his mom, he took things serious during his lessons with her. Jacob would pass his finals, allowing the schools to give him a grade promotion. He admitted after learning with his mom, he hated attending classes. No one taught like her.
"You know if you attended chem class, gave Mr. Banner a chance, I'm sure you could pass," I explained. "He's really good."
"I missed too many lessons and I can't make up the assignments. Even if I tried, teachers always have it in for me. I don't like feeling stupid."
"What if I helped you? Would you try?"
"You'll give me the assignments to copy?" he quested.
"No. That would be cheating."
"Oh come on! It isn't really. You give me the assignments to copy, so I won't owe them, but I'll still be learning the subject with you. This way when we get a test, I'll know it. No failing," he said trying to persuade me.
"No cheating on tests? You'll really study?"
"Definitely. I do loads better with one-on-one learning. Hey what will you give me if I ace the test?" He seductively smirked at me.
"I'm afraid to suggest something."
He gave a hearty laugh, but then his expression dropped. He was glancing over my shoulder and when I wanted to turn, just grabbed my hand to pull me out of the pizzeria. We went round the back and peeked over to the front. There were a few A-listers, as he called them, entering the pizzeria.
"What's the deal?" I asked. "Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?"
"Embarrassed? Far from it princess."
"Why do you call me that?"
He lifted his hand up and stroked my cheek. It sent tingling pulses I could still feel once his fingers were gone. "Because you're a princess." His voice was soft.
I gave a small smile and I'm sure his touch made me blush. "I'm not."
"Do you prefer Bella?"
I nodded. "So if you're not embarrassed, why are we hiding?"
"I told you before. Girls like you don't go out with guys like me, at least not in public. I thought it would bother you?"
The guilt washed through me. I was instantly transported back to my memory of when he and I would sneak away. I didn't want anyone to catch us, but I wasn't like that anymore.
"Are you kidding? Did I ever give you the impression I didn't want to be seen with you? I greet you at school, ride your motorcycle through my neighborhood, I even kissed you in front of my house." Though I knew I was going to pay for that later. "I don't say one thing and do another. If I didn't want to be with you, I wouldn't talk to you."
He squinted his eyes to fully examine my face. He was probably trying to find the lie in my statement.
"I learned it's not right to hurt people like that," I explained.
"Where did you come from?"
I giggled. "From a planet not too far from here," I joked. He joined in with my laughter.
"So," he asked, "your friends know about me?"
"Of course. They know all about my interests."
He hesitated before speaking. "Do they know we had sex?"
My laughter halted and I lost my smile. "No."
"Why didn't you tell them?"
"Mostly because I'm afraid my parents will find out. But still, some things are just too personal to share. The cliché is best friends are forever, but it's not always true. Sometimes information like that could be used against you even by your so-called friends."
"Whoa," he gasped.
"I've been hurt before."
"I could tell. Aren't you worried about me? I have a really good blackmail chip," he joked.
"Well, we've already established the secrecy works in your favor so, no, not at all." I smiled and leaned into him. He met me half way and I suckled on his luscious lower lip, gasping for breath when I was done.
On Saturday I snuck by my mom again on my way out to meet Jacob. My hair was streaked purple and I was in all black wearing my leather jacket. I went easy on the makeup this time, using light purple shadow over my eyes and natural pink upon my lips.
His fourteen year old sister, Rebecca, opened the door. She took one look at me. "What the heck?"
Jacob rushed out the door, pulling me along. "Thanks Beck."
She just stood at the doorway watching me climb onto his bike after him, adjusting my black pleated mini-skirt to cover as much of my fish-netted thighs as I could. I remembered her from Jacob's party. She was ten and shorter, but her face was very much the same. She was pretty, but still a bit child-like. I placed my helmet over my head and wrapped my arms around Jacob as the bike thundered forward.
Jacob took me to a teen club this time with private rooms. As the night wore on, it seemed Jacob was having a harder and harder time keeping his hands to himself. Eventually he suggested we should get a room, because there was no way else to satisfy his hunger for me.
On Monday I just had my bangs sprayed purple for school. The questions started again. Why did everyone feel it was necessary to vocalize every dumb question? Jacob ditched chemistry again and at lunch Rose, Asia, and Angela seemed reluctant to speak to me.
"So how was your weekend?" Rose asked nervously. "You didn't come to the mall on Sunday."
"Oh. I had a date with Volcano Saturday night. I came home so late I just ended up sleeping in on Sunday," I explained.
"Interesting," mumbled Angela and gave an odd look to Asia.
"What?" I mused.
"It's probably nothing, but we just thought you were recovering from a break up," Asia said.
"Break up? Why?"
"Well you were so down on Friday and well . . ." Asia muttered.
"We saw Volcano talking to Jane," Angela interrupted.
"Jane? When?" I asked slowly.
AN: So did you like it? I hope you enjoyed it and please tell me what you think. Your comments help shape the story, so feel free to review. You could also PM me with some ideas. I'm always up for more drama, comedy, and angst. Thanks to my consistent reviewers I look forward to your thoughts.
~g2r~