(Disclaimer- no ownage.)

I don't really have much to say now, but i hope you like this chapter.
key word: hope. please leave reviews, like always, and thanks so much
for reading.

Internal Combat

He was standing on the edge of the woods, arms crossed over his chest in a relaxed stance, a tiny little grin on his mouth. There was subtle apprehension etched into his eyes that probably only I could see, as well as a little caution, but the rest of his face was smooth and serene. I knew by the way that Jacob clenched his jaw that this portrayal of ease was seen more as one of arrogance. Anywhere else, such a laidback attitude would maybe be considered pleasant, refreshing. But here—this place…this was werewolf territory.

"What're you doing here?" I tried, but my voice barely made a sound. Jacob's quick eyes darted over to my face, trying to see what my reaction was—happiness or irritation—and then back at the man in the moonlight. The humans gathered in around the table next to me and Jake, flanked by Leah, Junior and Embry. Every mouth was shut tight, tension and anticipation filling the atmosphere. No one spoke; they all just stared with widely spread lids. Every pair of eyes was set on the vampire standing in front of us.

Edward glanced over at the mortals, observing them, obviously calculating how much they knew about the Quileutes by picking through their thoughts. Then his honey eyes flashed over at my hand where it was locked in Jacob's.

Embry dropped his tongs in shock.

"I came to speak to Bella." Edward said softly, slowly. His voice was so smooth and saccharine that I found myself a little spellbound by the words, by the simple fact that my name had been spoken in that delicious cadence he used. I could hear the girl called Grace breathe a little harder, just behind me, as she stared at the creature with the copper hair.

To her, he was a man, but to me, he was an angel.

"Why?" Jacob said curtly, nearly spitting the word like a flame-struck aero. His stance was tense, ready, as he stood beside me, and his hand was nearly snapping mine in two. The both of us were shaking, sent into trembles by the roll of anger down his back. I was surprised by the fury that poured from his every essence, by how much resentment there was between him and Edward. They'd never been friends, but it seemed like there was more hostility now than there'd ever been before.

Unless, of course, my memories were wrong again.

Edward's eyes slipped up to Jacob's face, subtle annoyance and maybe even hatred marring his once-perfect mask. There was a sparkle of amusement in his stare as he cocked his head to the left—a questioning gesture—and let go of a smirk.

"What?" I wondered, looking between the two of them. I knew that Jacob must have been thinking something to Edward, something that had blatantly both humored and irritated him. What could it have been that Jacob had not wanted to say aloud?

Edward looked back at the humans, taking in the eager woman behind me who was stretching up onto her toes, trying to get a better look of the beautiful vampire, and the three others who watched him with slight caution and tremendous awe. Then he lowered his gaze down to me once more, eyes gentle.

"Why don't we take this somewhere a little more private, shall we?"

"No way, José." Junior countered, stepping forward. At the tense tone of his voice, Jenna sprung ahead, too, following. Her eyes were wide with perplexity and suspicion. "You're not going anywhere with my…Jacob's Bella."

Edward cocked a silky brow, smiling.

"And why is it that you're so opposed? I'm sure you must know I've been alone with her well enough before you ever came around. Please," He said to me, voice a little less sarcastic. "just a moment. I need to speak with you."

Jacob shot him an icy glare, tightening his hand on me. I cringed at the force of it.

"Briefly." Edward added, looking pointedly at the hand Jake held me with. "And you're hurting her."

"Am not." Jacob objected in a growl, his lips curling up around his teeth. He dropped my hand anyway, though, slinging his arm around my waist instead. He was acting strangely possessive of me, more than I'd ever thought capable of him. I didn't think there could possibly be any space left between us, either, but still he seemed to strain me closer to him, like he was afraid I'd be lifted away in the gentle moonlit breeze.

My eyebrows met in confusion. "What's—"

"Who is he?" Deana murmured timidly to Junior and Jenna, risking a side-glance at the striking vampire's face. When she caught him staring back, her lips pulled up in a shy smile, and she ducked her face.

I had to admit she was pretty, now that I actually took the time to look at her. She had fair skin, framed by a thick mane of glossy red, a delicate spread of freckles over her little pink cheeks. Her eyes were a striking green, and her lips were full and scarlet. Any sane, intelligent person would have suspected that a man as beautiful as Edward would be interested in—if in any human at all—a human that looked like her.

But no. He was interested in me. It just didn't make any sense.

"No one special," Junior said harshly, eyes narrowing. Jenna glanced back and forth between Edward and Junior, Jacob and me. She looked absolutely petrified as she grabbed hold of Junior's palm where he held it behind his back.

The gesture was so protective, so worried, that I started to think maybe Junior had imprinted on her after all. This surely was no kind of summer fling. She really cared for him, feared for him—even when she couldn't understand that fear. If I could have picked anyone to be with my son, I realized, I would pick her.

But now that I'd come to this conclusion, I knew it would be just that much more painful for everyone when Junior imprinted. If Junior imprinted.

"I'm not here to quarrel with you, little boy, so if you'd please just abandon the attempted insults and forget your foolish pride, I really need to have a word with your…brother's fiancé." The last two words were so mocking, so amused, that I could all but hear the wheel's turning in every human head within five feet of me—which was all of them. There was no mistaking the implication in Edward's voice. They understood that something was up, and that had definitely been Edward's intention. He wanted them to suspect.

I met my brows in anger, wondering why he would go out of his way to do such a thing to Jacob. He'd never played dirty like this before. It wasn't like him, and I didn't like it. Not to mention I could have slapped him for speaking to my son like that. My hands curled into fists, as though I could have hurt him with them.

"Hey. Watch yourself. Remember where you are, Batboy. I really wouldn't wanna have to create a scene in front of the guests." Jacob's words were calmer than our son's, but there was an edge of a threat to them. I knew intuitively that every breath was being held—apart from mine, which was increasing in speed. "You'll talk to Bella when she wants to talk to you."

"I want to talk to him." The words tumbled out of my mouth before my brain could even process the thought. Everyone stared at me. Jacob looked almost as though I'd stabbed him in the arm with the rushed sentence, like I'd just told him to rot in hell or get hit by a bus. I sucked in air, realizing the mistake, wishing I could take it back. I knew the double meaning he'd have gotten out of what I'd said.

He'd not heard 'I want to talk to him.' He'd heard 'I want him.'

My teeth locked together.

"What?" Junior spit, reacting to my words as if I'd just confessed to the single most horrible thing in the universe. His entire body was trembling with waves of tension and reproach, angled so that he was facing me with wide, incredulous eyes and a taught mouth. Jenna grabbed onto his other hand now, as if holding him in place. Like she could ever keep him there.

Embry cleared his throat. "Kid," He lifted his chin, gesturing to Junior with a carefully peaceful tone. "Why don't you go take everybody home? I'm thinkin' the party's pretty much done for. The fire went out."

"What?" Junior repeated.

"Wait!" Caleb protested. His voice was deeper than I'd realized. He sounded oddly similar to Kermit the Frog. "I wanna see—"

"There's nothing to see here." Jacob interrupted.

After much arguing and even a little kicking and screaming on Junior's part, Embry managed to get Junior to take Jenna and the others home. Junior wasn't the only one mad that he'd not gotten to stay; the females—aside from Jenna—seemed reluctant to depart the presence of the pale mythical beauty, and Caleb just seemed upset to miss whatever fight he'd been hoping for.

Jenna seemed over all relieved that Caleb hadn't gotten his wish—and probably comforted also that Junior hadn't been caught in the middle of whatever might have been about to go down.

I was just wishing I could understand what was going on at all.

"Well?" I said expectantly, pointing the word at Edward's tranquil face. His eyes met mine when I spoke, and a strange sensation poured through me—hot and cold all at once, like melted ice-cream. My bones went soft.

"Privately, please?" He requested. When he lifted a hand out to take me, Jacob almost threw me to the ground to get me away from him. I jumped backwards, trying to steady myself so I wouldn't fall on my butt, and whooshed out an infuriated gasp.

"Touch her and I swear to the God that damned you I'll rip the head right off your stubby little neck." Jacob growled, leaning forward, readying himself for the attack. My mouth popped open in shock.

"Stubby?"

Edward slipped me a lopsided smile, humored by my shock at the word, and then peered back at the furious Jacob. The difference in their two expressions alone would have been comical had I not been so upset at the time. Jacob was wild with rage, and Edward…well, Edward just continued to stand there, graceful and pretty and much calmer than any normal person was supposed to be after getting his life threatened. And when he spoke, the words, too, were more or less calm. Plus a bit smug.

"Listen—and I do suggest you do so carefully, dog. You do not, and will not, tell me what I may or may not do. If I want to touch her, I'll damn well do so. You've no say in the matter, so I advise you stay out of it." He looked over at me, a small smile on his lips. My heart was thumping actively in my chest at what he'd said. I couldn't breathe right. "Bella?" He said simply, offering me the choice he'd not awarded Jake.

"…Okay." I said a little uncertainly, looking over at Jacob. Jacob's teeth were clenched, anger still painted on his face, but his eyes were weak, defeated. I'd hurt him—badly.

I closed my eyes, breathing deeply through my nose to calm myself so I could speak effectively. "Jacob," I murmured, brushing timid fingers along his arm. He blinked, staring straight ahead, and did not turn to face me. I felt a piece of my heart break and fall away. "Don't worry. I'll be right back. I'm not going anywhere."

He didn't respond, and I had no words left to say; none that I could think of would make any kind of difference now. What was done was done, and I needed answers from Edward that I couldn't ask Jacob. I needed this. I just hoped that I hadn't permanently damaged whatever little slice of confidence Jacob had had in me—or, at the very least, his ego.

With one press of my lips to Jacob's forearm, I walked the short distance to where Edward stood, feeling like a traitor. And for a split second, I could have sworn that I saw the pain I felt spread out across Edward's pallid face, saw the sorrow in his eyes as he stared past me at Jacob. The sympathy was so profound, the guilt so utterly plain, that I choked a little at the sight of it. But as quickly as it was there, it was also gone, and then he was walking into the woods.

"Screw this." I heard Jacob rage behind my back as I followed the vampire. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear it, but I did, and the anger and betrayal in his tone nearly had me falling to my knees. My heart was disjointed and battered, splayed out all over the forest floor for the harm I'd done and the love of the man I'd broken.

A tortured howl ripped its way into my eardrums only seconds later, and I knew the sound was Jacob's—his pain, my pain. I blinked to keep the tears away, hoping Edward wouldn't see.

When we'd walked a distance into the woods, Edward stopped, turning to face me. There was just enough breakage in the trees above for the light of night to filter through, breaking over his face like a wave of silken glory. He was astonishing, magnificent. So much better than me.

And when he looked into my eyes, I knew that he would never have agreed with my last thought. The gaze he threw at me was intense, devoted, and utterly convincing. He was in love with me. Always had been, always would be. And what I knew also, what I knew he would say, made me want to puke up the entire two lives I'd endured, to cry out the entire Atlantic Ocean for all of the grief it would cause me—the grief it would cause all of us. Because I couldn't hear this now. I couldn't do this now. This wasn't the discussion I'd been meaning to have.

"Bella." Edward said, lifting my hand with his. His fingers were cold, and wonderful. I closed my eyes to block the feelings, to block the sight of him from my mind. Not now. Not ever.

My poor Jacob.

"Bella, I'm not giving you up. I need you. Stay with me, please."

(author's note: okay, so before anyone goes and types out an angry i-hate-sampire review, PLEASE take into consideration
that Bella hasn't said anything back to edward, and that she really does still love jacob. so just wait it out, if you will, and
bear with me. there are a TON of plot twists in this story, as you probably already know by having read this far. i'm a crazy
kid. D but thank you for reading, and don't hate me, please. ) )