A/N: Some of you are going to hate me for this chapter, so let me just clarify things: this story will have a happy end! With that said, I present to you chapter 10. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Thanks to those that submitted a review, and it ahs been nice to see people are liking the story. That said, I would like to encourage you to please keep posting reviews! Based on your feedback, ideas can be put forward and even incorporated.

Thanks to Lineia and dantemalfoy for providing comments!

Warnings: slash/erotica, drama and heavy angst.

Chapter 10 – A Question of Trust

Come back to the reservation with me, Edward.

The words that Jacob had just spoken resonated in Edward's head. He was stumped. In mere minutes he seemed to have gotten everything that he could have hoped for. He didn't dare fantasize too much, but he couldn't do but imagine the leather dog collar fitting snugly around Jacob's muscular neck, strapping the sternocleidomastoid muscles inside its cold embrace. He licked his lips at the sight of every breath that went through that windpipe being within the confines of that collar – making it all his; every single one of Jacob's inhalations and exhalations – his, Edward's. The thought alone made him hard.

Edward started nodding slowly, after which a glint of new life appeared in his eyes. "Yes Jacob, I would love that…."

Jacob's eyes widened and his lips curled into a candid smile. He stepped towards Edward with increasing haste and lunged at him to embrace his body. Their hot and damp mouths met as they kissed passionately, hands roaming around wastes, heads and asses, gripping and pulling hair and occasionally tugging urgently on clothing.

When they disconnected, they stared at each other with a frenzied hunger. Edward's eyes were bloodshot and his mouth stood crooked with animalistic drive. Jacob was, as always, beautiful in his manly splendour, but his eyes radiated an urgent need that wasn't unfamiliar to Edward: it was the same glint of passion he had seen in Jacob's eyes that night, two weeks ago. That spark in Jacob's eye dislodged a teeth-baring smile on Edward's face, which Jacob eyed with a tense, almost anxious excitement.

"Edward, get in my car." Jacob hushed with a pushy undertone in his voice. He broke off the hug and started walking backwards, turning around halfway but keeping his eyes on Edward, who was now also moving towards Jacob's car. While Jacob unlocked the doors, Edward had found his way to the passenger's seat, and after the door clicked open, Edward briskly opened it, stepped inside and closed it with a bang.

He was never going to move away from this spot; never move away from Jacob again.

Meanwhile, Jacob had done the same, slamming his door shut too and sticking the keys into the ignition. Before he could start the engine though, Edward remembered his dream from a few nights ago. How Jacob had stopped, taken him by the arm and led him to his car. How Edward had then taken control by forcing them to exchange seats…

Edward suddenly placed a hand on Jacob's as he set out to turn the key in the ignition. Surprised, he stopped and looked at Edward. Edward merely smirked at him. "I'm driving."

Edward's voice and demeanour had turned dominant; nothing like the submissive that he had seemed to be just an hour before. Slightly shocked, staring wide-eyed at Edward, he let loose of the ignition. Shock quickly turned into submissive pleasure however: a slight smile had taken hold of Jacob's manly lips as Edward awkwardly forced Jacob onto his lap, after which he swept over to the driver's seat. Content with himself, Edward strapped himself in, and so did Jacob.

"You're back," Jacob said, looking over at Edward with a calm and content smile. Edward glanced at Jacob. "Only because of you, my pup," and he smiled wolfishly. He then turned the key in the ignition, and the engine sprang to life. Edward glanced over to Jacob, who looked surprised.

"Amazing Ed, usually I have to give it two or three turns before it does anything." Jacob admitted, still looking at the gently vibrating hood out in front.

"You know I can be persuasive, Jake." He answered, while his eyes rolled over Jacob's firm and muscular body. Jacob glanced over to Edward calmly, sporting a cheeky grin on his face: "Yes, I do."

Edward shifted into reverse, applied gas and the car creaked backwards, sending some of the smaller bits of gravel flying when the car's tires hit them. As soon as they were backed up enough, Edward hit the brake, shifted into first gear, and turned the steering wheel. He then applied gas again, thus beckoning the car forward. Not much later they found themselves on the main road, speeding towards the reservation.

As the rickety car clunked over the road at 60 miles an hour, Edward glanced over to his newfound friend. He looked his body over curiously. He had put on his leather jacket again when they left the diner; the one that made the boy look even more irresistible than he normally already was, especially with how his black, glistening hair was styled into a forward-running crest. Everything about the guy was just too delicious to bear. And oh, how Edward craved to dig his teeth into that still uncollared neck again….

"I'm done waiting Jake." Edward suddenly said, in a confident voice, still gazing out the windshield. Jacob shifted his gaze to Edward, surprised. "What?" He asked, not sure what Edward was hinting at, pulling up one of his eyebrows in confusion.

"You heard me. I want you. Come down on me, here and now." Edward replied, a cheeky but authoritative expression curling one of the corners of his mouth, but his voice remained solid as a rock. Meanwhile, his hand travelled from the gearshift to the zipper of his slightly oversized pants. As his gaze travelled back to the road in order to keep rigid control of the car's path, his hand started freeing his groin from the fabric cage that was his pants. Jacob eyed it all with surprise at first, but soon he unbuckled himself and eagerly made his way to Edward's groin. The dominance in Edward's voice had sparked the interest of Jacob Junior, encouraging Jacob's mind to submit too.

As Jacob came down on Edward and took his hardening limb into his mouth through the thin layer that was Edward's underwear, Edward moaned softly. This was this first time in two weeks that Edward had sex again, and boy did it feel good! He could feel how waves of joy gushed from his now-hard dick, flowing over into his loins and penetrating his abdominal region.

Hastily Edward pushed Jacob's head away, and stuck his tongue out from the effort of controlling both the car, which had a rather annoying tendency of veering to the right, and freeing his painfully hard dick from its cotton bonds. When he had successfully managed to do so, he ordered Jacob back onto it; Jacob gladly complied.

The full force of delight, provided by Jacob's damp oral cavity and the playful tongue that hid within, hit Edward like a brick. New, more intense waves of delight surged closer to his brain, ready to envelop it in a shroud of pleasure. He started moaning as his mind was confounded with the flood of joy that barraged his consciousness, forcing him to close his eyes.

The car veered dangerously to the right as Edward's mind slipped into subspace for a brief moment. The car hit the side-line of the road and the entire chassis bumped up and down as the tires hit the first small rocks that were strewn alongside it. Immediately Edward became aware of the present again and provided enough backpressure on the steering wheel to get, and keep, the car on the road. Jacob had noticed the sudden movements too, and had stopped sucking Edward in order to look up and out of the front window. His expression was one of fear.

"It's fine, all's fine, don't worry about it," Edward immediately reassured Jacob, and he caressed one of Jacob's cheeks soothingly. Jacob forgot about the sudden moment of anxiety and groaned quietly at the touch of the warm hand against his cheek; he pushed his face into the hand like a cat so as to increase the intensity of the pleasurable touch. Edward glanced at him and smiled. He was surprised by how quick Jacob was seemingly submitting and attaching himself to him. He knew they'd have a lot to work through, never mind that he himself had loads of trouble to deal with first. At least, though, this was going somewhere.

Flickers of fantasies, starring a naked slave-Jacob wearing a leather collar on a leash once again protruded his thinking, compelling Edward to dominate. He lifted his hand and cupped Jacob's chin forcefully, making Jacob direct his gaze at him, even though he himself was intently watching the road. "We're almost there my pup, why don't you keep licking that cock of mine, hm?" He suggested, glancing over at Jacob now and then. The look on Jacob's face had become one of satisfaction, which caused Edward to smile. In turn, his dick twitched forcefully: the fantasies had re-awaked it after the sudden moment of panic had caused Edward's erection to wane.

Upon seeing Jacob's content smile, Edward used the hand that cupped Jacob's chin to manoeuvre the boyish face back to his hardened limb that was twitching excitedly at the prospect of the continued joy. This time, though, Edward would make sure that the pleasure wouldn't take control of his mind like before. They didn't have such a long ride until the reservation anyway. It couldn't be more than a few minutes….

Jacob had almost enclosed Edward's dick in the embrace of his hot lips: he came down on the leaking flesh slowly and was about to close his mouth around it, when both of them heard a loud cracking noise, followed by a repetitive clunking sound. Immediately Jacob launched of Edward's cock and they stared at each other in utter bewilderment before looking around panicky. Meanwhile, the car started veering dangerously to the right again, causing Jacob to fly into a craze as he started yelling at Edward to keep the car under control.

For Edward, the next ten seconds would be remembered in a blur. The promise of renewed feelings of ecstasy had suddenly been washed away by an urgent panic. He had seen how Jacob had lurched back, and as they had stared at each other in panic, he had come to realize that something terrible had happened. The car was veering to the right, and no matter how much backpressure he gave on the steering wheel, the car was stubborn in maintaining its newfound path. Jacob was trembling and screaming in anxiety next to him, when it hit him to crash his foot onto the break. That action saved their lives.

As the car drove into the forest, crashing through bushes and branches, the sudden deceleration flung the unbuckled Jacob forwards and against the windshield. Edward, restrained by the seatbelt, felt a similar tugging on his body, but he remained seated. When the car finally crashed into a tree, Edward's world cracked into blackness.

A headache split Edward's mind in two. He shyly opened his eyes, but closed them again immediately as the stinging light caused his headache to surge to an unnameable level of pain. The sound that reached his ears was indiscriminate and confusing, a wooshing blur akin to what you hear when you put a seashell to your ear. As time trickled by, the memories of the last event slowly forced themselves into his thoughts. Slowly it came back to him what had happened, and how they had crashed into a tree beside the road. Then it hit him: Jacob had been flung forwards! Was he okay?

Immediately and without hesitation Edward opened his eyes, ignoring the searing pain that the light caused. He awkwardly undid himself from the seatbelt, which had kept him in a safe position. Slowly, the pain in his brain decreased when the light became less intense and his eyes refocused. The scene in front of him got clearer all the time as he got more accustomed to the light, but what he saw terrified him: the car was stuck in a tree. The front hood was pulverized, and scraps of metal were everywhere. There was no windshield; instead, splinters of glass adorned the dashboard.

And Jacob; Jacob was gone…. Blind panic quickly reddened Edward's world as tears appeared and rolled down his cheeks.

What have I done?!

New thoughts of desperation and exasperation occluded his mind as he stared panicky around the car, but there was no trace of Jacob; his Jacob was gone! He banged against the door, but it was stuck. Instead he lurched forwards, gripping the edges of the windshield's frame, cutting his hands on some of the pieces of glass that were still lodged in it. The blood trickled from his hand down onto his shirt and onto his pants; soon it was everywhere. Edward didn't feel a thing, as his heart was crushed under the pain of the expectation that he had just killed his sole reason for survival.

Finally he managed to climb out of the car through the windshield, and stared down. He only saw a tree, broken shards of metal and splinters of glass strewn out in front of him. Upon closer inspection though, he finally saw it: blood, and it wasn't his. There were several specks on the front hood, in front of the front passenger's seat. Edward jumped forward, or at least he went as fast as his aching body could carry him. The heart-numbing emotional pain that he was enduring was now slowly making room for physical pain, and so he felt the sting of the wound on his hand, and as he moved his knee, he felt how his muscles were burning angrily. He looked down on it, and saw how a small metal scrap had tucked itself neatly into his kneecap. He winced, and pulled it out with a firm tug that made him yelp. He then refocused on his duty: Jacob was the only truly important thing right now. And so he coped with the pain while creeping forward, until he reached the edge of the front hood on the passenger's side of the car.

Jacob!

Edward's eyes widened in horror: in front of him, laid out on the soft, lush grass of the forest, was the body of his beloved, muscular friend. He lay like a baby, curled up in a foetus position. A series of small wounds adorned his youthful forehead; no doubt caused by the glass of the windshield as he was flung through it when the car hit the tree. His pants were dirty and his hair had lost its neat crest. His jacket was torn at several places, one of which was all along his right arm; blood seeped out of a torn-up sleeve, and collected into a pool at his right hand that coloured the damp forest floor wine-red.

Edward stood frozen solid, all thoughts were crushed together into a ball that tumbled down a mountain, cleaning out his consciousness from all but the thought that Jacob might be dead. The way he lay there on the ground; he looked so calm and peaceful. Tears gathered beneath Edward's eyes and started streaming down his cheeks freely.

A few moments passed, and his rigid muscles gave way to the throbbing hurt he felt in his chest. He stumbled forward, falling off the front hood to land next to his beautiful friend. He curled up beside him, touched his cheek: it was still warm. He eyed his chest, and saw movement. Instantly relief engulfed his worried-to-death brain as he realized that Jacob was alive. Knowing this he rolled up Jacob's sleeve to inspect the damage. As soon as he touched it though, and started jerking the sleeve up along Jacob's arm, Jacob winced, and breathed heavily. Edward quickly let go as a smile bared his teeth. Jacob was still conscious!

"Jacob, do you hear me? You're going to be okay, you hear me? Everything will be fine. You are okay!"

Edward nearly cried the words, choking up as he spoke the last of them. Jacob's face seemingly relaxed momentarily before tensing up in a new grimace. Edward looked upon it, terrified, as he saw how Jacob slowly opened, closed and reopened his mouth, frowning and cringing all the while with pain.

"Ed, is that you?" he finally managed to utter, but his words were soft and imbued with a lifelessness that struck terror in Edward's heart.

"Yes my pup, it's me, Edward, you're going to be fine, okay? You're fine!"

Jacob winced at the words, groaning under his breath. Edward stood up, hands in his hair with growing panic. He eyed Jacob with an increasing sense of helplessness. His friend was in pain and he had no idea how to help, and since he didn't have a cell phone, he had no possibility to call anybody either. Instead, he slumped down next to Jacob again, a new flood of tears falling down his youthful face, wetting Jacob's shirt as they landed onto it.

Dear god, what have I done….

In his confusion, Edward started mumbling soothing phrases and words of hope, but his own state of mind deteriorated with every second. Soon he found himself back in that winter night, when all hope seemed to have fleeted and all that he was, was but a vessel of unnecessary warmth in a cold environment that was hell-bent on extinguishing his fire.

He looked up from Jacob's face and stared into the unwelcoming, dark forest ahead of him. It would be so easy to just go in there and disappear forever, never having to think about all this pain and suffering again. He clenched his eyes shut and drooped his head; No, he couldn't think like that, not now, when his friend was lying so badly hurt in front of him. He'd have to stay sane and alive, at least for Jacob's sake.

Precious minutes past. As time crept forward, Edward's mind calmed down, and he found peace in the current situation. The quietness enabled some of his cognitive processes to pick up some speed again, and bits and pieces of his thinking were slowly restored to some modicum of functionality again.

Doesn't Jacob have a phone with him?

He kicked himself for not having thought about this sooner… Jacob was a modern teenager and was sure to have at least a simple Nokia with him. He soon found himself bending over Jacob, searching the pockets of his pants and jacket; indeed, he did have a phone with him. A simple Nokia was stuck in the back pocket of his pants, and fortunately the keypad wasn't locked. Edward quickly fumbled in his jacket's pocket and managed to fish out Brad's number; he would know what to do.

The phone rang. Edward started walking in circles, impatient for hearing Brad's voice. Suddenly the line sprang alive: "Hello?"

"Brad? It's Edward, I need your help!" Edward immediately replied, his voice sounding unnerved with excited dread.

"Calm down, Edward, and tell me what happened." Brad sounded worried, but being the man he was, he was goal-oriented and wanted to know what situation he might expect. Edward, in reply, told of the car crash and how Jacob seemed to be badly hurt, that he needed quick medical attention. Brad gave some quick instructions, which Edward followed, and to which Brad sighed with seeming relief.

"Okay, don't worry, Jacob will be fine. His pulse is strong. He probably has a few flesh wounds, but nothing they can't fix at the local hospital. I'll be right over. Where exactly are you?"

Edward was taken aback by that question. Where were they? Such a simple question, yet Edward had no idea.

"Erm, we are along the road between Forks and the reservation, about five minutes away from it, by car."

It was quiet for a few moments before Brad spoke again. "Right, I'll be on my way. I'd rather not have you leave Jacob for too long, but whenever you think you hear a car coming, walk over to the road. If it's me I'll be able to spot your location, understand?" Edward affirmed the instruction, and both of them hung up.

Satisfied with the result of the call, Edward was surprised to hear grumbling sounds coming from behind him, so that he turned around to Jacob. Jacob was trying to sit up, supporting his body with his seemingly unwounded left arm. His face was tensed up, no doubt because of the pain that permeated his body but that he forced himself to ignore. Immediately Edward crushed back next to Jacob and helped him sit up.

"Jake, stay put, you're only tiring yourself out," Edward commented worriedly. Jacob groaned in pain as he let himself rest against Edward. He panted lightly, and gazed at Edward. His forehead was shiny with a thin film of sweat.

"Ed, you'll stay with me through all of this, right?" He asked in a quiet though confident voice. Edward's eyes became wet with regret again as he nodded and patted Jacob's back.

"I will be here Jacob, don't you worry. I might have to go now and then for a few seconds, because I'm expecting somebody to arrive who can take better care of you than I can, but I'll be here for you, Jake." Jacob smiled in response and groaned appreciatively, closing his eyes meanwhile. Edward listened attentively for signs of cars, but there was nothing so far. He then looked back down at Jacob, who was calmly resting against his arms.

After a little while, sounds of a nearing car in the distance became vaguely audible. Edward's heart jumped up upon recognizing it between the chirping of birds and surges of wind that made the leaves rustle restlessly. He looked at Jacob and softly patted his back.

"Hey Jake, I hear a car coming so I ought to check if it's Brad, the guy I called up to help us. I'll be right back, hopefully with him." Jacob opened his eyes, and mumbled an "okay", wincing as Edward laid him back onto the ground. When he was back onto the ground and Edward had once again reassured him, then turned around to leave for the road, Jacob propped himself up using his unharmed elbow and turned to see Edward stumble over branches to get back to the road.

Edward soon breached the lining of trees along the road and looked sideways hurriedly, to see if anything useful was coming his way. The road was almost completely deserted; there were only some birds a slight distance away. The noise of the car became more distinct with time however, and soon he saw a pick-up truck appearing from around a corner.

Edward squinted to try and get a closer look of the car, but at that distance Edward couldn't be entirely sure. Not much later the car was close enough for Edward to recognize the fast-moving vehicle as Brad's car, upon which Edward's heart skipped a beat from relief. Not much later the car had pulled over and had parked right beside him. The door flung open and a worried Brad got out in an instant, slamming the door shut behind him and locking it. "Where's Jacob, Edward?"

Edward gave a brief account of Jacob's seemingly improving medical situation while he led Brad to the crash site. Once they had arrived there, they found Jacob still propped up on his unharmed elbow.

"You are Jacob, I presume. I'm Brad. Now, let me look at you…."

Brad kneeled down next to Jacob, but Jacob seemed reluctant to be touched by Brad. He looked Brad over with a hint of mistrust, after which he looked at Edward with a questioning expression. Edward nodded briefly. "Jacob, this is the Brad I told you about while we were at the diner. Trust me, he's a good guy." Jacob nodded in affirmation, smiled weakly and said "Hi". Brad smiled in reply and got closer.

As he touched Jacob's bleeding arm Jacob grimaced, but kept his gaze fixed on Brad's strong, hairy arms. They travelled up his forearm, to his elbow, squeezing lightly here and there and poking in other places. Most of the time Jacob didn't react particularly harshly, to Brad's content. He mumbled all kinds of stuff, but mostly his audible ponderings sounded positive, until he squeezed a particular area halfway Jacob's forearm: Jacob suddenly spasmed and yelped in pain. Brad instantly let go and frowned.

"I see. You probably bruised or, god forbid, broke your right forearm. We'd better get you to the hospital. Ed, help me lift Jacob, please?" Edward nodded and hurried over. Soon they had Jacob leaning on Brad's shoulders as slowly they made their way to Brad's pick-up truck, where they sat Jacob down in the front passenger's seat. Edward went to sit directly behind Jacob, holding his big, manly shoulders. Jacob relaxed as much as he could in response to Edward's touch, and closed his eyes momentarily. Meanwhile Brad got into the driver's seat, started the engine, and applied gas. Soon they were rolling back towards Forks at a steady 50 miles an hour. As the trip progressed, Jacob turned to Brad.

"Brad…?"

Brad glanced at him. "What is it Jacob?"

"I'm sorry for how I reacted earlier. It's a question of trust…. I needed to know from Edward, that's all; nothing personal." Brad smiled at hearing Jacob's words.

"It's okay Jake, I understand. I would have done the same. Trust, indeed, is a valuable but rare commodity that isn't easily attained. It requires work and dedication. I'm glad to see that such a bond exists between you and Edward. Me and my wife feared Edward had nobody to go to, but I'm happy to see he does." Brad glanced at Jacob and pierced his eyes as he spoke the words. In those eyes, however, and much to his dismay, Brad saw uncertainty. Jacob's sudden eerie silence didn't help much to set the mood straight, either.

Edward remained quiet also, a haze of doubt shrouding his mind once again. Jacob's silence at Brad's words worried him, and it hit him that Brad was depressingly right: it was a question of trust.

Our bodies survived the crash, but what about the rest?