Bella and Jacob… set during New Moon; Edward never comes back, what happens with Jake and Bella?

Jacob's POV

Chapter 1

I walked along the beach at La Push. It was uncharacteristically sunny out for an average day in Forks, Washington. I stopped at the water's edge and looked out over the horizon, taking in everything around me. I picked up a flat rock and attempted to skip it over the choppy water. It didn't work too well. I heard a giggle from behind me. I sighed and walked over to the driftwood tree, where Bella was sitting.

"Nice job skipping that rock, Jake." She burst out laughing. I rolled my eyes. Something clicked in that instant. It was like everything around her disappeared and we were the only ones left in this world. Why hadn't I seen this before? Being a werewolf I had been told about imprinting, and had even explained it to Bella once she finally guessed what I was. Boy was that torture waiting for her to figure out the monster that I became when I got angry. It was a classic case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I shook my head to try to clear my thoughts, I decided that I needed Bella to not be so close to me in order for me to be able to clear my thoughts.

"Like you could do any better." I countered. She huffed, got up off the tree, and strode over to the water's edge where I had been standing. She searched for a nice smooth flat rock until she found one, nearly a minute later. I stared at her in awe, had I just imprinted on my best friend? Suddenly that term didn't seem to cover it anymore. That answered my question. Yes, I had just imprinted on Isabella Marie Swan.

She picked up the rock she had chosen, wound up and flicked the rock over the ocean, it skipped three times and then plummeted to the bottom. She rubbed her hands together to clean them off, satisfied with her skip, and waltzed back to where I sat. She stopped a few feet from where I was sitting with a smug look on her face. I sighed. "Okay, so maybe you can do better." She laughed. "But that was only a lucky shot!" I laughed and bolted from the tree towards her wrapping my arms around her waist as she locked her arms around my neck.

Bella's POV

He spun me around in circles until I felt like I was going to be sick. We were both laughing so hard, at absolutely nothing, and it felt amazing to laugh like that again. It had been months since I had laughed with any sincerity. He set me down and I wobbled a bit, his large hands quickly grabbing my waist to steady me. He stared down at me and smiled. I returned the smile blushing a deep scarlet and ducked my head. He laughed and this only made him smile more.

"Why the blush, Bella?" He asked sarcastically. Still looking away from him I shrugged. He took one hand from my waist and touched one finger under my chin, pulling my face back to meet his gaze, only making me blush more. How I hated this curse! I was always the one, quick to blush. No matter if it was out of embarrassment, lust, or anger. It never failed, no matter my emotion, I blushed. And it was never an ordinary blush; it was always deeper and hotter than it needed to be.

I honestly didn't know how to answer his question. He was looking at me in a different way. He had never looked at me with such love and devotion before, I mean, I know that he likes me, but I never knew it was so strong. I found myself wishing he would kiss me. I shook my head to try to get that thought out of my head. He was my BEST FRIEND for Pete's sake. I loved him as a friend, I knew that, but could I ever love him more than that? Suddenly it's as if everything fell into place. I knew this look; it was the same look Sam gave Emily, the same look Jared gave Kim. Jacob was now looking at me like this and it made my stomach do summersaults. I looked deep into his eyes and realized immediately that my thoughts were correct; I flashed my eyes away as quickly as I could.

Jacob had just imprinted on me.