Disclaimer: Thank you Stephenie Meyer for your Twilight world and to Guy Andrews for the concept itself. Without them, there would be no story.

A/N: Like I said, I've been buried under exams, study, home-work and major writing projects. I've decided to slack off them this weekend just for you guys. Here's the newest chapter. I'm not sure when the next one will be up. Please bare with me and enjoy.

Return to Meyer

19. Truth

The hours that followed our return to the surface from the Volturi's underground chambers seemed to go by quite quickly. Looking back, I find it results from having so many things jammed into one space of time.

The moment we reached a point where we could actually see the sky, I opened up a portal inside a nearby doorway. Without so much as a word to the others, I gestured for the boy the Volturi had kidnapped to follow me. Guiding him softly beside me, it didn't take long to find his group who appeared to be in a complete panic at his disappearance. He was warmly welcomed back, the relief evident on his face. I could only hope that today's events hadn't traumatised him completely and that possibly, he could even forget them.

So, with a heavy heart, I walked the alleyway from which I'd come and again passed through the archway. Edward watched me carefully, as if trying to ascertain exactly how I was feeling. Mentally I wished him good luck because as of yet, I didn't have a clue myself.

The warmth of the day returned to my skin at the reappearance of the sunlight. No longer feeling the need for the reminder of those terrible…people downstairs, I removed the cloak Edward had given me and handed it back to him.

"I'll be back," I told them quietly, "I just have to go find Jacob."

Edward shot Alice a hard look that clearly said something along the lines of "You brought the mutt as well?"

"We'll be here," Carlisle reassured me with a strained smile.

I pushed through the people as politely as I possibly could until I reached the spot I'd left him. Spinning around on my heel, I strained my eyes in the sunlight in the attempt to find him. A tap on my shoulder sent me sky high.

Jacob looked down at me in a cross between relief that I was back and anxiety remaining from the time he'd spent waiting around for me. I wished that he could have stayed home but then was reminded that he'd insisted he come along and I hadn't been in the mood to argue.

"So?" He asked, his arms folded across his chest.

I shrugged loosely. "Edward's back, we're going home." I told him simply. "Not that you really care about the first part." It wasn't meant to be an argument or a snipe, just merely a statement of fact.

Jacob didn't respond.

"Oh, but I'll be going home soon and I'm not coming back," I blurted out quickly in a bright tone, hoping to get it out of the way quickly. He deserved to know but as for the circumstances surrounding my leaving, I wasn't so sure yet. I took off slowly, leading him back to the shadows where the Cullens were waiting for us.

"What do you mean?" He asked, panicked.

I sighed, running a hand down my face. "Jacob, I'm here on holiday…well, if you can call it a holiday. I need to go home. I have a family too." Holiday, sure. That's absolute crap and you know it.

"But that doesn't mean you can't come back." He added, hopefully.

I shook my head. "No, I can't. I made a deal with the Volturi and let's just say, if there's an agreement you don't want to go back on, it's one with them."

He opened his mouth to argue or suggest something everyone around him would deem ridiculous or suicidal when I cut him off. "Look, Jake. I'm exhausted, okay. Can we talk about this another time?" I was finding it hard to pick my feet up off the ground after all the stress I'd been through today. Not to mention the jet lag.

"No, I'm not going to let you side step the conversation anymore. I'm sick of just having to trust you," he held up his fingers in quotation marks, "I need answers and we're not going anywhere until I get them." Jacob crossed his arm across his chest, his firm resolve evident on his face.

Putting a hand on his nearest arm, I looked him dead in the eye. "Jacob, I promise you that once we're back in Forks and I've had a good night's sleep I will tell you anything and everything you want to know."

He eyed me carefully, searching my face for any trace of dishonesty. I put on my most sincere expression. "I'm done pretending. You," I nodded to the Cullens, "and they, deserve to know everything. I promise. Just give me some time. I'm exhausted."

Jacob's determination weakened slightly. Clearly I'd slipped up in hiding just how tired I was physically and emotionally. He nodded before wrapping his arm around my shoulders and walking with me back towards the Cullens. I shot a small look at Edward, trying to ignore the jealousy I knew he was straining to keep under wraps but was a hundred percent evident in his eyes.

By this point, I wanted nothing more than to go home. My real home. To my own universe, to Australia, to my family and friends. This was the end of the line for me; the final epilogue to my overwritten story. Or so I thought.

"Ashley," a velvet like voice echoed dreamily through my head without the distinction between fantasy and reality. Such a nice, familiar voice. Cool but so warm at the same time.

"Hmm….hi," I mumbled as a giddy smile took hold. The voice chuckled quietly. My eyelids flickered open at the sound. As my eyes cleared, Edward's face took shape. Its angles and paleness softened by the faded sunlight of an afternoon in Forks, Washington.

"I was wondering when that Edward shaped alarm clock was going to get here." I joked lightly before propping myself up on my elbow on the pillow. "Speaking of time, how long have I been asleep?"

He looked down at his watched and smiled, "It's two-thirty meaning you've been in bed for about seventeen hours."

I sat up with a start, jaw dropped. "Hold on, seventeen hours? Are you kidding me? I'm lucky if I sleep ten." I cried as I tried to blow fallen hair out of my eyes. I groaned as Edward gently reached out and placed the chunk behind my ear and shoulder. His fingers stroked downward for a few moments to calm me before returning to his thigh.

He laughed, "You were completely worn out. I almost had to carry you up the stairs."

I paused in thought, "Yeah, I must really have been out of it if I can't even remember coming here from the airport." Sitting up properly I eyed him carefully. "Please don't tell me you've been sitting there watching me sleep for the entire seventeen hours."

Edward shook his head firmly, "I've only been here for about two. Part of which was spent coming up with an explanation for Charlie." He muttered.

Peaked interest, "Oh yeah? How'd that go?"

He gave me a grimace before getting out of the rocking chair by the wall. "As well as can be expected under the circumstances,"

I crossed my legs under the covers, watching him as I tried to think of a gradual way to broach topics we really needed to discuss. There didn't seem to be an unobvious way to do it so I simply jumped in head on.

"You do know that I need to leave," I reminded him of my promise to Volturi as his mood darkened ever so marginally.

"Not immediately," was his cool response.

I shrugged, "Well no, there's some stuff I need to take care of first but I will be leaving and I need to check that what…" I trailed off, a little unsure for a moment.

He moved to sit on the bed, eyes curious and concerned. "What?" He probed.

"Well, do you still intend to come with me this time?" I asked with a minor quiver to the words.

His face resumed its half smile but with a strong sense of determination, "Of course, I do. I made the mistake of not pushing harder last time and look where it has gotten us. There's no way in heaven or earth that I'm letting you leave without me again."

I nodded happily, "Good. That means I have three things to address before we leave."

"Is it within reason to assume that Charlie is one of them?" He asked measurably.

I got up out of bed and reached for my hoodie before throwing it on over my pyjamas. "Yes. The second is Jacob."

I couldn't say for sure but if I had to guess, I would have said that I saw Edward's eyes narrow at the sound of Jacob's name. "Edward, he deserves to know. He tried to get answers in Italy and I promised I'd tell him everything once we got back. He won't tell anyone."

"If it were up to me, I would leave Jacob Black and his….pack out of the equation." He commented sullenly.

I cut in firmly, "Edward, I'm not discussing it, if you've got a problem, deal with it but I'm telling Jacob." I sat in silence waiting for him to attempt some other sort of protest or persuasion but he remained just as quiet as me, his golden eyes focused on me closely.

"What's the third?" He finally asked, revealing to my relief that he was going to let the Jacob thing pass. I really wasn't in the mood to argue over it. After all, it was my choice.

Taking a deep breath, I finally expressed the most important idea on the agenda and probably the one that would mean the difference between Edward's imminent and future happiness.

With a broad smile, I faced him.

"I'm going to offer a choice to your family,"

After finally getting dressed and forcing down some sort of meal (breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea….who knows?), I followed Edward out to the Volvo which he had parked out front. Charlie, to my surprise, was at work, leaving the house free for whatever discussion or vampire freedom Edward wanted. We'd decided to speak to the Cullens first before heading down to La Push to speak to Jake. That is, I would be speaking to Jake. Edward still couldn't pass the treaty line which he was evidently peeved about in this instance.

But surprisingly and conveniently, as I headed out into the cold air, I found Jacob waiting for me by the tree cover opposite. Despite the cold, he was dressed only in a pair of sneakers and denim cut offs. I averted my eyes from his bare torso, hoping that this small gesture would put Edward a little more at ease. With a quick glance at him, I found that at ease was not going to be anywhere near possible.

"I'll meet you in the car," I told him as I began to head toward Jacob who was eyeing Edward as intensely as the Edward was watching him. Suddenly I was glad I'd slept on the plane trip back. I hated to think just how tense the environment had been with a whole bunch of vampires and a werewolf in close quarters, let alone the fact that both Jacob and Edward seemed to have a pretty strong vendetta against one another.

Edward grabbed my wrist carefully as to ensure no bruising, "And what do you expect me to do while you explain highly complicated concepts to an unstable young werewolf?" The concern and force shone through every word.

I gave him a broad smile, "Sit down and put on a CD," I offered lightly. Ignoring his angered expression, I kissed him quickly on the cheek before completing the distance to Jake.

"Hi there," I greeted him, "I was going to drive down and see you later this afternoon."

"Yeah, I can see why your morning was so obviously busy." He added venomously.

I rolled my eyes, "Jacob, I've been asleep for about seventeen hours." He looked surprised at this, "I warned you that I was exhausted."

Walking a few steps into the underbrush, I began brushing off a couple of leaves on a large log before sitting down. "And now I am here to answer your questions," I tapped the spot next to me but apparently Jacob was in the mood to stand.

"Ask me whatever you want," I prodded him, ready to get the whole reality of the idea out of the way and move onto the concepts themselves.

Jacob paced in a line for a couple of minutes straight before finally coming up with a series of question that I had already prepared answers for. They were the logical ones to ask.

"Why do you seem to pop in and out of here without ever having been driven to the airport and without any luggage?" he asked pointedly, his arms crossed as per usual.

"Good question. That's because one, I never fly here and back and second, I never seem to plan my trips here. They just…happen. Ergo, no chance to pack."

Despite its truth, my answer seemed to confuse Jacob more than he'd been without it. I couldn't blame him. It was a pretty damn confusing idea.

"But you live in Australia," he stated blankly.

I nodded, "True."

"Then how the hell do you get there if you don't fly? Swim?" He blurted out in exasperation.

I stood up, "Okay, stuff the questions. I'll tell you what you need to know and then you can ask whatever you want. Just listen." Bracing myself for another one of many difficult conversations, I took an extremely deep breath before exhaling. The breath formed a white cloud of cooled air and I watched as it slowly dissipated into the atmosphere.

By the time I'd finished telling my story about how I'd ended up in Forks the first time and about Stephenie Meyer's books, he'd decided that perhaps sitting on the log was a better idea that he'd originally thought. It was a lot to take in.

"This is all fictional," he commented unemotionally.

I kneeled down to get my face level with his, "Of course not, that's what I'm trying to tell you. You're all living life out here so obviously you exist."

"But we're book characters in your world."

"Errr...well, yes and film characters in the movies based on the books." I told him without thinking.

He stood up, panicked. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He held up his hands in the gesture for slow down or back up. "Movie characters?" He cried, the volume of his voice escalating.

"Hey, if it's any consolation, the guy who plays you is extremely easy on the eyes and he's got your temper down to a tee." I joked in a failed attempt to lighten the mood.

"Okay, you're from a different dimension where I'm a fictional character in love with Bella Swan." He lowered his hands. "Right, I can handle that." He said shakily.

"Really?" I checked, worried. "Because, so far you don't seem like you can."

He stopped, an idea occurring to him. "How long has he known?"

Ah 'he', Jacob's universal term for Edward. It was the only way he could manage to refer to him without using an insult I would find offensive.

"Hmmm….I can't remember exactly when but about half way through my last stay. He kind of coerced me to give him my Twilight copy under Bella's bed and I'm an extremely crappy liar." I said, thinking back to that moment. You liar. You gave him the damn novel after he told you he loved you. The horror with myself of when I'd first struck up the nerve to hand him my Twilight novel was still fresh in my mind, but also the relief I'd felt in being able to tell someone for the first time. That I wasn't completely insane.

"If he can handle it, I can handle it." Jacob said firmly. Of course he could. Anything Edward can do, I can do better. I could practically hear the tune playing in Jacob's head from there.

"Another question, before you leave. I need to know." He looked uncomfortable. "You say you love him. But you can't tell me that you don't have any feelings for me."

Why god why? Things were going so well?

"Yes, I can Jake because we're just friends." I replied stiffly.

He shook his head and took a step forward closing the distance between us. "You know that's not true." The hope in his eyes was killing me. It was like denying Mike Newton all over again.

"It is. Jake, please don't make this difficult." I pleaded.

"I don't believe you," he told me, determined.

"Jake…" I tried to protest again but before I knew what was happening he had pressed his lips against mine. What is this? I wanted to scream. It's like somebody squished New Moon and Eclipse together to try and make my life a complete and total HELL!

The burning sensation spread throughout my body as his lips moulded themselves to mine. They pushed against me hard and rough, in a way that Edward's only ever seemed to do when we were in my dimension. Yes, it was a great kiss but the feelings behind it weren't the same. Unlike Bella, I wasn't in love with Jacob. It must only have been a few seconds in reality but it felt so much longer.

Breaking away from him I was horrified. "Oh my god," I exclaimed. "That did not just happen." I repeated again and again to myself. "I would hit you but even though I know how, I doubt it would turn out well seeing as we're in fictional Forks."

I shook my head. "No, no, no."

"Ashley, you don't want to hit me because you can't admit that you have feelings for me." Jacob told me smugly. "I would be so much better for you than he would." He professed.

"Edward might have done a lot of questionable things but he's a good person. He doesn't deserve this." I cried at him angrily but the damage had been done merely by the beginning of the sentence.

"Why did you go to Italy?" He asked. He'd picked up on it. How could I have been so stupid.

"I told you, to get Edward." This was the story. I was sticking with it.

"Yes, but why was Edward there in the first place? Not that I care if the bloodsucker decides to leave town but why did you have to go and get him?"

Oh dear. Oh dear, dear, dear.

"It doesn't matter, you know all the details now so let's just…" I began babbling to cover up the fact that I wasn't going to answer the question.

"Ashley," he warned. "You promised to answer anything and everything I wanted to know. I want an honest answer."

Crap.

"There was this whole misunderstanding with Edward and me and a wounded leg which was entirely Victoria's fault." I rambled at top speed. Jacob's face darkened instantaneously and he took off at top speed just as the sound of a slamming car door echoed through the trees from the road.

Oh damn. Edward had heard exactly what had happened. I am so screwed.

I rushed after Jacob as he walked in long strides towards the road. From the corner of my eye, I could see Edward marching up to meet him from the other direction looking equally as murderous.

To my utter fear, Jacob's body had begun to shake violently in spasms as he walked. In a few moments, if he couldn't get them under control, Edward would be facing a life sized werewolf.

And there would be nothing I could do to stop them from fighting each other.

A/N: I know, cliffhanger but how else can I keep you coming back to read? ; ) Anyway, like I said, it may be some time before a new chapter or it may be soon, I don't know. As always, try to ignore my bad grammar, lack of editing and remember to review. Much appreciated.

Next Time on Return to Meyer: It's Edward Vs. Jacob. Can Ashley put a stop to things before they get out of hand? More still, Ashley has a proposition for the Cullen family. One that will change their lives forever. Will they take her up on it?

Next Time.