A/N: Took a break from this for the Easter weekend. I've had 407 hits, but not many reviews...which just means I appreciate the reviews that I did get even more. Thanks guys:

Lylly
futurecullen05
Skillets
madmamabear

The reviews are what motivate me to keep going. :) Not sure what direction this little story is going to take, I'm just going with the flow. Also, for some reason, I had a hard time writing this chapter from Bella's point of view, so I hope that it reads as good as the others, and if it doesn't, my apologies! One last thing- Victoria is not going to be an issue in this...however, I do have a use for her which will be revealed later.

BELLA'S P.O.V.

I rubbed my eyes, grimacing at the monster of a kink in my neck. I briefly wondered why in the world I was sleeping on the couch before the previous night came back to me in a rush. Stretching, then pulling myself upright, I frowned at the absence of Jake. I wasn't mad he had left, I just wished that he would have woken me and told me, or left a note or something. I forced myself to calm down when I felt the familiar beginnings of panic begin to set in. I closed my eyes. Jake wouldn't leave me. Not like Edward. I think? Oh god, what if he decided that I'm too broken for him, what if-

"Good morning, Bells."

I would recognize that voice anywhere. My Jacob. I instantly felt a little guilty for even thinking that he would leave...I should have known better. Jake barely left my side on a good day, so I shouldn't have been so quick to just automatically assume that all members of the male species were like Edward. (It was so weird to be able to think of him without feeling like I wanted to die.) I glanced out the window. I guessed it was early dawn, as it wasn't completely light outside yet. "Good morning, Jake."

I was trying to avoid looking at him, because I knew in a split second of looking into my eyes, he would be able to see that I had freaked because I thought he had left. That lasted maybe thirty seconds, though. After last night, and all the things that were said, I needed to see his face. I looked up and saw Jake, in the same ripped cutoff shorts from the night before, and this hair was just off kilter enough for me to know that until a short time ago, he had been sleeping.I offered what I hoped appeared to be a smile. He scrutinized me for several moments, then looked into my eyes. "I'm not leaving, Bella." Then he smiled, ruffled my hair, and then retreated back into the direction he had came, towards the kitchen. I strained my ears, and heard Jake and Charlie (Charlie?) talking in low voices in the kitchen. Facepalming myself, I got up and peeked into the kitchen, not really sure if I wanted to know what they were talking about...the only thing I was interested in was finding out just how Jake had managed to pull off staying here...Did Charlie even know that Jake had been here all night? Had Jake even been here all night, or did he sleep outside the door in wolf form after Charlie got home? Gah. Seriously, it was way too early for thi smuch thinking. I just walked into the kitchen, and plopped down into the chair next to Charlie. Spontaneously, I reached over and hugged him tight "Good morning, Dad."

Charlie looked baffled, but in a good way, and he broke out into a grin before replying, "Hey, Bella." How are you feeling this morning, kiddo?"

I glanced at Charlie and Jake back and forth until Jake finally said, "It's okay. I told him everything." The tone of voice he used made it clear that 'everything' meant 'everything that Charlie needed to know'. In other words, he hadn't told my dad about any of the freaky vampire or werewolf stuff. Thank God. If Charlie knew about such things, and was actually convinced that they were real, he would never let me out of this house again. Charlie grabbed my hand and squeezed. "It sounds like you had one hell of a night, Bella." He stood and went and rummaged in the cupboards, finally pulling out a box of cereal and pouring me a bowl. "Why don't you just take it easy today, huh?"

I nodded. "That was the plan. I thought maybe I'd catch up on a few things, and then maybe hang out with Jake,and-"

"Bella. He's been here all night. He needs to go home." His tone softened as he saw my face, then he said gently, "Look, I can't let you be around Jake all the time, okay? I know you care about him, and that he's your best friend, and that things might be escalating in that area...but, you need to have a life. Edward took up all your time and thoughts, and it made it that much worse when he left."

Jake stood so fast that his chair fell to the ground with a loud crash. "I wouldn't hurt her! And I wouldn't leave her!" He glared at Charlie, and I felt alarm as I realized how long it had been since Jake had phased...it he lost control of his emotions, all hell could end up breaking loose in here. I put a hand on his face so he looked at me, and then I hugged him, making it brief so I didn't give my father a coronary. As I had expected, this calmed down Jake just enough. Staring at the floor, he muttered a quick apology to Charlie, pressed a kiss to my forehead, and left, but not before letting me know that he would be calling or texting later.

I snuck a glance at Charlie, and was shocked to see that he didn't look angry, as I had expected- rather he looked smug and a tad satisfied. Still, though, he asked, "What was that about?"

"He just hates being compared to Edward, even indirectly." That was the truth, and as much of it I could tell him without venturing into the territory of secrets that were not mine to tell. I watched as Charlie nodded, finishing his breakfast, and then bidding me goodbye as he headed into the station for another early day. I felt bad about it. About how hard my dad had been working lately, and then, to add to the stress of that, I had been having my issues with the whole Cullen ordeal. ...Speaking of the Cullens, I was finding it strange (but definitely nice) that I was able to think of them, to talk about them (especially Edward) without feeling anything except a twinge of hurt...the kind of hurt any person would feel at being dumped. Nothing more. I continued to ponder this as I dumped the bowl of mushy cereal slush down the sink. I looked down at myself...I needed a shower. I felt human again, it was time to start acting like it and taking care of myself again. It was when I was rummaging through my closet for something to wear that I noticed it. My face hurt. I glanced into my mirror, and was stupefied to find that I was smiling. I rolled my eyes. at myself before slipping into the shower.

Refrehsed and rejuvenated after my shower, I set about the task of removing anything that reminded me of Edward from my bedroom. That took about a whole two minutes, as Edward had taken just about everything in that category. So I settled for just picking up my room, which to be honest, since the whole Edward fiasco, hadn't had a really good cleaning. After dusting, vaccuming, mopping, dividing all my stuff in to 'keep' and 'toss' piles, cleaning the windows, and throwing a huge load of laundry into the wash, my room was sparkling clean, and I actually felt like I could finally relax, since I had accomplished something. I grabbed a stack of homework from my backpack, and decided to get that done, which really wasn't relaxing, but felt like it was, as I was doing it in bed. I flew through the various assignments, and I ended up curled beneath my covers with Austen novel. I would read until aobut 4:30-ish, then get dinner ready for Charlie. I wanted to have Jake over for dinner, but wasn't sure how Charlie would take it, as Jake had been here the night before. Absentmindedly tapping my fingers against my book, I decided I just might be able to get away with having Jake over for dinner if I invited Billy too...still, I would check with Charlie first. As soon as he went on break, I would call him...

So, when 3 PM rolled around, I called Charlie and broughtr up the idea of having Jake and Billy over for dinner, but it was a no-go as Charlie had his heart set on eating at the diner. Suppressing a sigh and an eyeroll, I said that was fine, and that I would see him then. Seriously, my father and his obsession with that diner...Not only that, but I had the feeling that he wanted to eat at the diner to keep me distanced from Jake. Even if he didn't say so, I knew that because of how I was after Edward left, he was afraid that that is how I would react to any break-up. I knew he was just being a dad and all, but right now, it was annoying. Yes, Jake had just been here. I didn't care. I still missed him. I always missed Jake whenhe wasn't here, that was a given. But knowing that we were finally doing it, finally giving 'us' a chance, I just really wanted to be around him more than ever before. I had always wanted to be around Edward as well, but this was different...With Edward, I felt like I had to be around him all the time, to keep his attention. I just wanted to be with Jake, because he made everything better, made me better. Apparently, though, I was going to have to be very chill about this whole thing though, so Charlie didn't go into fits. It was all find that I was hanging out with him when we were just friends...which didn't make any sense, because Charlie didn't really try to hide the fact that he thought Jake was a better guy for me than Edward...now that I had finally realized this, Charlie was going to be a brat about it. Awesome.

A/N: Yes. This is really short. Yes. It's not the greatest. I had a really hard time with this chapter for some reason...:/ Maybe Bella's P.O.V. isn't for me. I will work on it, and the next chapter will be from Jake's P.O.V., so it will be better, I promise!