Author's note: Yay! Third chapter :) Sorry it's been a while with the whole updating thing, but I hope that that will change soon with summer just around the corner. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope you guys enjoy it as well! Thanks in advance for reading and reviewing, if you feel so compelled. :)
Out of Nowhere
Three
The sun was hanging low in the midday sky when Jacob stopped in front of Bella's house. A thick ceiling of clouds obstructed its rays and the rain that came during the night left the ground slick. The precipitation that came now was cold and misty, falling in continuous sheets.
Running across the yard to meet Bella, Jacob's hood flapped noisily in the wind. "You ready?" he quizzed her, an expectant look lighting up his expression.
"Of course," she returned, patting at her pocket as if he should know.
"Good," he grinned, nodding to Charlie who waited at the front door cautiously. "I'll have her home by eight. Promise."
Bella turned on her father, who tossed his hands up innocently. "Let's go," she said, grabbing the edge of Jacob's jacket and waving to her dad.
Once inside Billy's truck, the warm air drying their faces and coats, Bella pulled out the list. "Where to first?"
"Well," Jacob said, putting the vehicle in drive and taking off. "I figured we could hit up some junk yards, haggle for cheaper parts. And then we'll get the rest at an auto parts store. They have a decent one in La Push, but Port Angeles would be the best place judging from some of the things that we need."
"Okay…I'll leave the haggling to you," she said matter-of-factly as they turned onto the 101.
His lips curved into a smile as he accelerated and turned on the windshield wipers. "No problem."
They reached Port Angeles within an hour, with the rain coming down harder now in thick sheets. Having stopped for lunch on the road, they got to business right away at an auto parts store where they checked off a good plenty on their list. Jacob was more efficient than Bella had expected, knowing exactly where to find the items and where to cut corners.
By three o'clock, Bella and Jacob had moved on to the various junk yards of the city. As promised, Jacob handled the haggling, leaving Bella to give the haggled merchants encouraging looks. An hour later and they had a newly used steel door at half price and a fender for another one of his projects. Jacob decided he could find a decent windshield in La Push.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Jacob crooned as he pushed his findings in the back of Billy's truck and slammed the tailgate.
"No, not too bad," Bella smiled as she walked around to the passenger side and moved to open the door.
"Hey," Jacob said before she reached the handle. "You wanna get something to eat here. Anything at Billy's is just going to be cruel after a day like we've put in…"
"Yeah, sure," she replied, shoving her hands into her jacket as the wind picked up. "Will all this stuff be okay?"
"Oh yeah. I don't know who could make off with that door or who would need it for that matter," he said as he locked the truck, grinning at her. "You're the only one I know who drives a 1953 pickup. And I know people…"
"Right," she laughed as they started down the sidewalk, their sides bumping together. "I didn't think about that –"
"You've got to be kidding me!" a shrill voice caught her off guard. "Bella?"
Turning around at the same time, Jacob and Bella laid eyes on Jessica Stanley, who was bouncing toward them with shopping bags.
"Jess…"
"Bella, what are you doing here?" Jessica questioned, her eyes drifting from Jacob to her friend.
"We came to get parts. Jacob's helping me fix my truck," she answered, tossing a sideways glance at him. "Well, he's doing most of the work…"
"I see," Jessica nodded, her eyes fixed on Jacob. "You're that kid from the beach in La Push. Right?"
"That's me," he replied, shifting uncomfortably under her stare.
"Yeah. So, Bella, you should definitely come to the movies with me and Brad," Jessica said nonchalantly, motioning to the burly boy who was crossing the street with several more bags.
"He's in college," she whispered excitedly.
"Oh," Bella said, trying to steal a glance at Jacob. "Well, we're kind of busy tonight. We've got to get something to eat and then head back to Forks."
"Eat some popcorn," she said as Brad came to stand beside her. "Come on Bella, it'll be fun. You can come too Jacob. It'll be like a double date or something."
At the word date Bella bit her lip for a fraction of a second before catching Jacob's eye. He looked thoroughly amused.
"I'm in," he said, waiting for Bella's response.
"Yeah, sure. Me too."
"Great!" Jessica squealed, giving the remainder of the bags to Brad. "Put these in my car, will you? Bella, I have so much to tell you!"
Pulling at Bella's sleeve, Jessica looped arms with her and led the way, whispering and giggling. As they reached the movie theatre it was decided they would see Before My Heart Knew Yours despite the protests of everyone but Jessica.
As they waited in the concession line, Bella could feel her skin growing cool and sticky. Her stomach was in knots at the thought of seeing a romantic movie and her thoughts quickly turned to Edward. After excusing herself from the group, she rushed to the bathroom. Jessica was hot on her heels.
"Bella," she called, propping herself up by the sink where Bella was pressing a cold paper towel to her cheeks. "I'm so glad you came in here before the movie started! You and Jacob Black?"
"What?" Her head felt light and her ears rung as she ran the cool paper towel over the faint white scar on her forehead.
"You and Jacob! On a day trip? I mean, you're moving kind of fast don't you think? Edward hasn't even been gone a –"
"Listen, Jess," Bella said quickly turning to face her. "I'm not with Jacob, okay?"
"That's not what the look on his face is telling me. He's got it bad Bella. You'd better watch out. You don't need another lovesick puppy on your hands." She warned, pushing away from the sink.
Bella's head swam as Jessica's words sunk in. She ran the cool napkin over her face once again; her skin grew numb and prickly. She didn't know if she could do this right now, but Jessica didn't give her an option as she grabbed hold of her hand.
"Time to face the music," she chimed cryptically.
The lights in the lobby seemed abnormally bright to Bella as she was thrust out of the dim bathroom. Jacob and Brad stood waiting patiently with the snacks beside the entrance, their last attempts at making small talk relieved.
"Why do girls always go to the bathroom together?" Brad wondered aloud as Jessica took his hand, leading the way into the darkened theatre.
Jacob shrugged and smiled at Bella as they fell behind the couple. She could barely look at him as she made her way down the row behind Jessica, stumbling on an empty popcorn bucket in the process. She could feel Jacob's hands steadying her in the middle of the row.
"I'm fine," she whispered, her shoulders tingling from his touch.
The quartet sat down in relative silence, apart from Jessica's whispers and giggles to Brad. Bella sat unmoving in her seat until the previews ended. Her mouth grew dry and her palms sticky.
"How much do you want to bet this movie will bomb?" Jacob's warm breath was at her ear as he leaned across the armrest.
Bella shook her head and closed her eyes; she couldn't do this, not right now. The opening credits began and she could feel Jacob's eyes on her and the rolling feeling in her stomach again.
"Bella," Jacob was at her ear again. "Are you alright?"
This time she didn't ignore him. "No. Can we go home?"
"Sure," he whispered sincerely, the streaming light from the projector casting shadows along his face.
Bella turned to Jessica before moving from her seat but found that she was otherwise occupied by Brad's lips. Not wasting another moment, Bella pushed past Jacob and headed out of the theatre.
Resting her head against the wall, Bella barely heard Jacob come up. He carried her coat and the popcorn in one arm and her drink in the other. As he handed them to her, his brow furrowed.
"Here, you left these."
"Yeah. Thanks, Jacob," she said quickly, eyeing the entrance and praying that Jessica wouldn't come out to find them. "Let's go, okay?"
Nodding, he followed behind her out onto the darkening street. She hastily pulled on her jacket in silence and dropped her cup in the street. Jacob managed to catch up with her before she ran across the road to the truck.
"Hey," he said concern evident in his voice as he caught her arm. "What's the matter?"
Pulling her arm from his grasp, she shook her head. "I just need to go home, okay?"
"Okay," he replied simply, a wounded expression in his eyes, before picking up the paper cup and walking toward the truck.
She followed him quietly and waited a moment as he unlocked and opened her door. The ride back to Forks passed in silence, with no explanation or inquiry from either of the two. Occasional looks were exchanged when the other wasn't aware, their day ending in a dismal, uncomfortable silence as they passed the moonlit Lake Crescent on the Olympic Highway.