DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER.

"You know what, you guys!" I heard Jacob shouting. "I really don't give a shit! He can go and fucking starve if he wants to! In fact, I wish he would!"

"Is that so?" I asked, walking into their line of sight and crossing my arms over my chest, staring him down. "Is that what you really think Jacob?"

Because if it was, there was going to be no way I was going to let up.

He was going to pay.

BPOV

I stood there, in front of Jacob, Sam and Embry. The three of them looked surprised to see me there.

Sam and Embry stood there with looks of surprise mixed in with relief. Probably because they knew that there was a higher chance of them winning their current argument with me there. I wasn't going to take a backseat in this argument. Hell, I was going to be the one fronting it.

Jacob on the other hand, looked pissed. Whether it was because I had heard what he had just said or because he knew that I would be taking the side of Sam and Embry, I didn't know. All I knew was in that instant. I saw red.

"Well, Jacob." I crossed my arms over my chest and stared him down. "You really want that to happen?"

"So what if I do?" He countered, squaring up to me. Sam and Embry moved to stand beside me, grateful expressions on their faces. I gave them small smiles in thanks before staring back at Jacob.

"My question is why?"

"Because." He shrugged. He didn't give me any further response than that.

"That's not good enough Jacob." I rolled my eyes at him. "You know, come to think of it there is no real reason for your behaviour towards Edward. He has done nothing wrong. If this is something to do with me, then take it out on me, but leave Edward out of it. You have no idea what he's been through." I could feel my face heating up, and for once it wasn't out of embarrassment. It was out of anger, frustration whatever you want to call it, that's what I was feeling.

"Well," He huffed. "As it so happens, he's the one I've got a problem with." He shrugged. "Not you, so....you really don't have to say anything to me."

"Actually, you know what, I really do, because you have no idea what you could have done." I countered.

"Like I care." He snapped.

"How can you be so heartless?" I asked, not believing what I was hearing. Did he really not care about another person's feelings, about his life. This was not the Jacob that I had known, the one who used to be my friend.

"I'm not being heartless." He countered. "I don't think that he's good enough for you. I won't stop believing that, no matter how many people tell me that I should be believing otherwise." He shrugged again. "Is there any problem with me looking out for my best friend."

"But you're not being fair Jake." Sam interrupted. "Bella is obviously in love with Edward, and you, as her friend, should be supportive of her. In a friendship you can't be a friend, Judge and Jury at the same time. That's not how it works Jake. In a friendship you back your friend, no matter what you think. You should be happy for Bella. She's found someone that she loves, and you know, not many people find that person."

I gave Sam a thankful smile. I knew that he knew what he was talking about. He had found the one that he would love forever. His fiance Emily was one of the loveliest people that I've ever met. Both she and Sam had just been through horrible break-ups when they met, and it was a blessing that they had found each other. They were perfect together.

"But that doesn't fit in with his plan does it Jake?" I snapped at him, knowing that what I was about to say would really get to him. "You want Edward and I to break up, in the hopes that I'll come running to you in thanks for you saving me from him. That's it isn't it Jacob?" He didn't say anything but just stood there seething at me. I smirked at him, knowing that I had hit the nail on the head. "Thought so."

"Do you know how warped that is Jake?" Embry cut in. "I mean, you're willing for Bella to hurt just because you can't have what you want? Newflash, Jake. We don't all get what we want in life."

"Don't you think I know that?" Jacob was glaring at Embry and Sam now, obviously pissed that his friends were taking my side over his. "I just don't think that he's right for you."

"And why not?" I took a step towards him. "Because he's not you?" Again he didn't say anything. "How is he not right for me Jacob? He's kind and loving, he smart and caring, he's funny, he's sweet, he's stronger than anyone else I'll ever know-"

"And hows that?"

I took a deep breath through my nose, setting my jaw as I did so. "Because he has been through so much and yet he has fought it. Yes, he might have succumbed to his guilt and grief and taken it out on himself, but he's turned that around. He's moved on and wants to start his life over. You think he doesn't deserve me? When in actual fact its me who doesn't deserve him. He has done everything he can to turn his life around. He knows and has accepted and admitted that how he lived his life was wrong, and he's trying to make amends for that now. And I don't see you doing the same thing." I looked him up and down. "In my opinion, he's ten times the man you'll ever be. I love him Jacob, and you behaving like this....it's only strengthening that love. Now," I took another step forwards. "You can either man up, admit what you did was wrong, apologise to Edward and tell my mother that you made everything that you told her up. Or, I will never ever talk to you again. And I'm telling you, that even if you do do those things, there's a very good chance that I won't talk to you again anyway."

"So why should I?" His eyes narrowed at me. "If you're not going to talk to me again anyway, why should I do those things? If it means that he'll be away from you, then I don't think I will."

"Because it won't only be Bella that you'll lose as a friend, Jacob." Sam snapped. He must be really mad because he only called Jake "Jacob" when he was either really pissed at him, or was winding him up. And I don't think Sam was in the mood for winding Jacob up. "Embry and Seth told us what Edward said on the beach the other day, and you should know more than anyone how hard it is to lose one parent let alone two." Sam was going for the blows that would really hurt Jacob now. But being perfectly honest, I didn't care. He deserved it. "And in such a way. At least you got a chance to say goodbye to your mother. Having both of your parents taken from you like that. It would fuck up even the strongest of people." Wow. Sam must be really pissed. Like Carlisle, Sam never swore. That is unless he was really close to losing it. I turned around and placed a hand on Sam's arm. I saw him visibly relax. But only slightly. He was still really pissed at Jacob.

"Sam's right Jacob." I turned back to face him. "Can you honestly say that if you had witnessed both of your parents dying like that, it wouldn't have affected you? What would you do if Billy died like that tomorrow? What would you do if say, like Edward and his parents, you were in a car crash and the only one to survive was you? If you say that you could walk away from something like that then....then you're even more cold-hearted than I thought you were." He didn't say anything, and I knew that we were right. He didn't know what he would do. I knew he didn't. He had no further argument. "Now, I want you to first call my mother and tell her that what you told her was a lie. And then I want you to apologise to Edward. No, wait, scratch that. I don't want you to come anywhere near Edward again. Ever. I want you to stay away from Edward, the Cullens and me."

With that I stormed out of the shed. I didn't need to look back to know that Sam and Embry were following me.

"Bella." Sam called, but I didn't stop. I heard them running behind me. "Bells." He came in front of me and I stopped, trying desperately to not let the tears that were welling up in my eyes. Stupid trait. I thought. I had a habit of bursting into tears whenever I was really angry. I didn't want to cry in front of these two. They might take it the wrong way and think that I was crying because of what I had said to Jacob. "Are you okay?" I nodded. "You sure?"

"Yeah," I whispered, blinking the tears away. I gave the two of them a small smile.

"You want a ride home?" Embry asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I smiled at him gratefully.

"No." I shook my head and the two of them looked confused. "I want to go to the Cullens."

"You want us to take you?" Sam offered, giving me a small smile.

"Are you sure?" I asked, not wanting to put them out or anything. "I mean, I don't want to inconvenience you guys or anything."

"It's no problem Bells." Embry reassured me. "Actually, I kind of wanted to talk to Edward.....you know....apologise for what happened on the beach. You reckon that he'd talk to me?"

"Yeah," It was my turn to reassure him. "Yeah. I think he knows that you didn't know that what Jacob told you was a lie. I'm sure that he'll talk to you. He's a pretty understanding guy."

"That's good, then." Sam chuckled. "Okay, then. You want to go tell Charlie that we're taking you there?" I nodded and made my way towards the house.

"Dad?" I called upon entering the house and I heard a murmur come from the sitting room. "Dad? Um, Sam and Embry are going to take me to the Cullens, if that's okay."

"Of course it is, Bells." Charlie gave me a reassuring smile and I turned to see Billy sat there with a shocked expression on his face.

"Bella." He wheeled towards me slightly. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea of what Jacob had done. I didn't realise that he had phoned Renee and told her all that stuff about Edward. I know it's a lie, and so does he. I hope that the two of you can talk to Renee and get it all sorted."

"I hope so too, Billy." I sighed. "And thanks. I'm off now, okay Dad?" I looked at him and saw that he had a slightly shady expression on his face. "Dad? Are you okay?"

"Hm?" He looked at me, breaking off whatever train of thought he had been on. "Yeah, course I am. Go have fun with the Cullens. Tell them all I say "hi"."

I smiled at them and waved, following Sam and Embry out of the house.

"I don't think that it's a good idea for us to take the bikes do you?" Sam asked, turning his torso as he walked to look back at me and I shook my head. Edward would not approve of that, and I didn't want to take that risk. Not that I didn't trust the two of them, but I didn't trust the bikes. No matter how shiny they were. "Okay, then. Gimme a sec and I'll run to mine and get my truck. We can take the bikes with us, as I'm not really in the mood to come back here any time soon." He sighed. "Not while Jacob's behaving the way he is anyway. Wait here."

Embry and I waited in front of the Black's house by the bikes while Sam ran to his house to pick up his truck, well, his father's truck. We sat on the porch step in a relatively comfortable silence. Embry seemed a little agitated. He was probably worrying about how Edward was going to react to his being there, after what had happened on the beach.

"Hey," I placed a hand on his. "Don't worry about it. It'll be fine." He gave me a wry smile, but didn't relax.

A few minutes later, Sam reappeared in his father's sky blue truck. It looked a lot like mine, other than the colour and his was a lot newer than mine was. Whereas I think mine might have been new in the seventies or somewhere around that time, Sam's was only about ten years old and wasn't a growling monster like mine was. As soon as he parked, he and Embry hauled the bikes up into the back and we all climbed in. The cab in his truck was also a lot more spacious than mine was. Whereas, mine could only hold two people, Sam's could fit three people easily and it was surprisingly spacious, even with two huge lugs like Sam and Embry either side of me.

I gave them directions to the Cullens house and yet, even with my instructions, Sam still nearly missed the turn-off to their driveway.

"Bit concealed isn't it?" He asked as we started up the long, winding driveway.

"That's the point." I said rolling my eyes and the two of them chuckled at me.

As we turned the corner that brought the Cullen's house into view I looked at the two of them. Embry's mouth had dropped open slightly and Sam's eyes had gone wide. I heard Sam let out a low whistle, showing that he was impressed with what he saw.

"Whoa." Embry whispered. I smiled. I had had pretty much the same reaction to the Cullen's house when I had first seen it, but over time, even though it was still impressive to look at, the people that dwelled inside had become more important and impressive than the building itself. Sam stopped the truck and sat there in silence, not moving. I saw his eyes raking over the various vehicles that where sat in the driveway. I noticed that his eyes lingered longingly on Emmett's Jeep and I chuckled.

"Okay, you two." I said, still laughing. "Stop ogling the building and cars, and let's go." I nudged Embry slightly and he snapped back to life. I climbed out after him and waited while Sam locked the truck. Not that it was needed up here, as the only ones here were the Cullens. Hardly anybody else came up this far, and if they did, it was usually hikers who had gotten lost in the woods that stretched far behind the Cullen home.

"Okay, then." Sam said letting out a deep breath. "Let's go meet loverboy." I shot him a death glare and he chuckled at me. I turned around smiling. I knew it was all in fun and that they were really happy that I had found someone like Edward.

I walked up to the house, digging in my pocket for the keys to the house. Finding the right one and placing it into the door I turned to see Sam and Embry standing there with shocked expressions on their faces.

"Hey," I said shrugging. "We're close." That was the only explanation I gave them as I opened the door and walked in. "Hello?" I called as I slipped off my jacket and shoes. I turned and saw that Sam and Embry were still standing outside. "Come on in." I waved them inside and they stepped over the threshold tentatively. "Come on you guys. No one's going to eat you."

"Bella!" Alice cried, bouncing up to me. She threw her arms around me giggling.

"Whoa! Okay Alice. I only saw you at school." I choked out against the pixie's death-grip.

"So?" She pulled back, pouting at me. "Is it wrong for me to miss my best friend?" She cocked her head to the side, noticing Sam and Embry standing in the doorway. "And who are these two?"

"Oh, this is Sam. He's a friend of mine from La Push. And this is Embry. You guys met him the other day at the beach." I pointed between the two of them. Alice smiled at both of them, still bouncing up and down. I turned to look at the two of them and they wore expressions of surprise. Probably due to Alice's extreme energy overload. "Guys, this is Alice. She's Edward's little sister. And yes, she's like this all of the time." Neither of them relaxed, but they looked at each other with worried expressions. I turned back to Alice, chuckling at their responses to the hyperactive squirt in front of them. "Alice, where's Edward?"

"He's in his room." She giggled looking at the two of them. "Come on in, you two." She leapt forward and stood in between the two of them, grabbing a hand each. She began to pull them towards the living room. "Oops. You've gotta take your shoes off first." I nodded and they did as they were told. They've only only Alice for a matter of moments and she already had the two of them whipped. New record for Alice methinks. They shot me worried glances and I gave them looks that said "don't argue, you won't win." With that they allowed themselves to be led into the living room by Alice. I was silently hoping that Emmett and Jasper wouldn't jump them while I was upstairs with Edward. But then again, they had seen Embry defending Edward on the beach so I figured that they were safe. For now at least.

I made my way up the stairs to Edward's room quickly, praying that I wouldn't fall down the stairs as I went. I knocked on his door quietly, but didn't get a response.

"Edward?" I opened the door, and didn't see him in there. "Edward?" I was getting a little worried now, but then I remembered that the last time I hadn't seen him when I opened the door he had been on the couch reading. I made my way around to where I could see the couch and me being me, tripped over nothing. I braced myself for the face plant that I was no doubtedly going to make, and yet the floor never met me. Instead I was stopped by a pair of arms wrapping themselves around my waist and holding me to the person's chest. I inhaled and breathed in the beautiful scent of my love.

"Clumsy as always love?" I heard him whisper in my ear, chuckling.

"Well." I shrugged playfully, turning myself around in his arms, facing him. "You know me. I can't help it." I kissed his lower jaw tenderly. "Besides, I like falling into your arms." He chuckled and pressed his lips to mine. "Come on." I unwrapped his arms from my waist as I broke the kiss. "There are some people downstairs who want to talk to you." His brow furrowed as his eyes narrowed, not fully trusting me. "It's okay. They don't bite. Much." He frowned and I giggled, leading him downstairs.

I led him into the living room, where Sam and Embry seemed to be getting along with the Cullens well enough. They had obviously explained what had happened earlier today as the Cullens were laughing and joking with them.

"Hey Bells." Emmett cried as we walked into the room. "Heard you gave Jacob what for, huh?" He grinned at me and I stiffened.

"Um, what?" Edward asked quietly, looking at me.

"I um, went to see Jacob today after school." He raised his eyebrows at me. "It was no big deal. I just decided that I'd had enough and I wanted it over and done with. I told him to leave all of us alone. Whether or not he'll listen is another question all together but .... for what it's worth, I tried." He kissed the top of my head gently. "You're not mad?"

"What would I have to be mad about?" He asked, looking confused. "I mean, yeah I'm not happy that you went to see him without telling me, but you did what you felt you had to do. How can I be mad at you for that?"

I smiled and wrapped my arms around his waist, leaning on his chest. "I love you." I whispered.

"As I love you." He whispered back, running a hand through my hair.

"Wow, Bells, you were right." Sam said grinning. "I think if I were you Ed, I would have blown up. You know the whole "how could you be so stupid?" routine." He shrugged. "But then again that's just me."

"Edward, please." He corrected Sam. "I don't like nicknames." He explained as Sam raised his eyebrows in a perplexed manner. "And besides, Bella went with her instincts. She did what she thought was best for everybody. Whether or not is was for the best remains to be seen, but, in the meantime, she made a decision and followed through. How can I be mad at her for doing what she thought was right?" He shrugged. "Besides, it all in the past now and no amount of me shouting and accusing her is going to change that. What's done is done."

Sam let out a low whistle. "Jeez, Bells. I thought you were kidding."

"Huh?" Edward looked at me confused.

"Never mind." I smiled as he narrowed his eyes at me. "Doesn't matter." I stood on my tip toes and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips, leaving him more confused than before. I led him round to sit on the sofa and we flopped down. I settled myself in next to him and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Hey, Edward." Embry turned to look at us. "I just wanna say, I'm sorry for what happened on the beach. I mean, it was wrong of us to believe Jacob like that, without getting all of the facts first. I know that Seth's sorry too, and I just want to make sure that you know, we're sorry for what we said and-"

Edward held up a hand, stopping him. "It's okay." He said softly, looking Embry in the eye. "I know where you're coming from. You were backing up your friend. There's no shame in that. Yeah, you should have gotten all the facts but still, I can't blame you for not knowing everything. It's okay." He took a deep breath. "Honestly, it must have been hard for you to say that. Thank you." He smiled at Embry and I saw Embry visibly relax and smile back.

After that was out of the way, the jokes and laughter resumed in the living room. Everything felt perfect. I had people from both worlds in this one room, getting along. It was something that, ever since this ruccus with Jacob, would never happen. But it was. It was happening right in front of my eyes and I couldn't be happier.

"Hey," Sam piped up over the laughter. "Here's a thought. There's a barbeque slash party slash gathering thing happening on the cliffs on the res when school gets out in a couple of weeks. Why don't you guys come?" He asked looking around. Everyone grinned at him. I looked at Edward who was smiling but there was a reserved look in his eyes. Parties meant eating in public. Not something he was fully okay with yet. I put a hand on his chest letting him know that it was okay and he looked at me. "If you'd like that is. I mean there are a lot of people who go from Forks, so it wouldn't just be you guys mixed in with a load of kids from the res."

"What do you think?" I asked looking up at Edward.

"Sounds great." He said before leaning down to kiss me.

What the hell did I do to deserve someone like him?

Just want to say thanks for putting up with the whininess over the last couple of chapters.
I don't know....I guess it's just an insecurity thing.
There'll be one more chapter on this day and then I'll be skipping three weeks ahead to the party.
Please review.
Enjoy.
xx