Friends?

"Wow, Bella! Did you get some training while in Phoenix?" Mike moved to high five me, but I pretended not to see and jogged slowly to the other side of the field to go pick up the volley ball that had somehow ended up there.

Mike had graciously offered to be on my team again and to his surprise (hard as I tried to keep up my previous abysmal level) we'd ended up winning most of the mini matches. It was as Edward had said. It was just that easy. I wasn't even consciously thinking about what I was doing, my body moved automatically towards the ball, which seemed to move as slow as if we'd been playing underwater, and I intercepted it effortlessly.

As to injuries, all my troubles with balance and coordination were gone. For a fleeting moment I'd considered hurting myself on purpose, but I knew it would be pretty hard. If even falling out of trees didn't give me a bruise, or a bear's claws couldn't put a scratch on me, how was a ball or a pole or a net going to do any damage? I was more likely to split the metal pole in two. And that wouldn't be conspicuous at all.

"Must be my day I guess." I shrugged and smiled. Smiling seemed to help with Mike. He stopped asking questions.

"Let's smash them!" He said enthusiastically as the coach's whistle announced the last match of the class.

I sighed in relief when it was finally over. Not that it had been really that hard, or humiliating, or painful, all of the things P.E. had always been to me. I just felt really awkward, trying to act normal while my body had other intentions entirely. And I still couldn't really see the point of sports. Especially human sports. They had barely held my attention before, but now they were just outright boring. I could all but have done it in my sleep.

Coach Clapp asked us to put everything away. Mike insisted I carry nothing, so all I was left with was to carry two volleyballs and deposit them in their basket while the boys struggled to get the poles back in their storage place. I bit my lip as I imagined how quickly I could've taken care of it. It was also kind of funny to imagine the faces they would make. And then suddenly an image of me carrying Mike above my head with one hand while he screamed in terror scurried through my mind. I could barely stop myself from bursting out laughing.

Yeah, being a vampire was starting to have its fun sides, I had to admit.

I could tell Edward was raging with curiosity as to why I was giggling to myself as we walked back to the car. But every time he asked I just blushed and went quiet, I didn't really want to admit what silly thoughts I'd been having while I was so bored with P.E.

"Congratulations on your first day back as a human." Alice beamed as she arrived with Jasper and got into the Volvo. Rosalie and Emmett had taken their own vehicle. The Volvo could only hold five.

I could see people staring as we drove out of the parking lot. I was part of the Cullen gang now. And we hadn't even told anyone yet that Edward and I were engaged except for Charlie.

I winced as I thought of all the people's reactions. My mom was the one I dreaded the most. She would be so worried and disappointed. And what about everyone at school?

I had to remind myself that it was my own decision, my own responsibility. I'd wanted this, so I had to deal with it. Besides, it was Edward. How could being engaged to him be anything less than absolute bliss?

People are going to stare and talk. A small voice insisted stubbornly.

Edward stopped the car in front of Charlie's house and moved to open the door for me. I could see him now, getting out and walking around the front. I opened my door before he got there but he still held it open for me as I stepped out.

"Force of habit." He smiled radiantly at me. If I hadn't known any better I would've started to think he really, really liked school. I hadn't seen him in such a radiant mood since our early days together. And even then, there had always been reservation, more control and more of a physical distance between us. The physical danger was gone now. The only one who was putting distance between us was me with my strange irritable moods.

I felt it again as he wrapped me into his arms, my face pressed against his chest. Two conflicting emotions overwhelmed me. The desire to lock my lips to his and rediscover every part of his body, and at the same time the desire to push him away from me and tell him to leave me alone.

Maybe the irritation was due to the flames I felt in my throat. The thirst wasn't getting any better with time. I was so starve I could be dying…

"I'm going to help Carlisle with research this afternoon. Everyone with some kind of medical or chemical degree is helping." Edward explained as he held me at arms length, so he could look into my eyes. I could see the sparkle in his eyes dim considerably as he remembered the greatest problem and mystery we were facing. The problem of what I was and what I was going to eat.

"Do you have any ideas?" I wondered what they would be working on.

"We have a few leads to explore."

"Edward!" Came a complaint from inside the car.

"Alice is getting impatient." I chuckled and Edward smiled broadly, not taking his eyes off me.

"I hate leaving you alone like this, but I know you want to spend some time with your father." His voice dropped to a soft murmur. "But call me if there's anything, I'll be here in less than four minutes." He assured me a he stroked my cheek, going down my jaw and over my throat as he'd come to get used to doing.

"I'll be fine." I whispered back, but it was hesitant. I didn't really know what I would feel more. Anxiety and pain from missing him, or relief from not having his constant presence around me. I sighed. What's wrong with me?

"Thank you for today, Bella." His voice sounded smooth and silky, but intense at the same time. "It was the best school day I've ever had by far, and I've had many."

After some more hissing from Alice, who didn't appreciate being forgotten in the car with Jasper, the Volvo was speeding down the street and around the corner.

Unlike the day before I was now completely alone. No vampire around surveying me, and Charlie hadn't come home yet. That reminded me I had dinner to prepare, and for that I first needed to hunt down some ingredients around the house. Charlie hadn't exactly done much grocery shopping while I was away.

I managed to salvage a few onions from a pack I'd bought about two months before and discovered one can of peas and carrots at the back of a cupboard I'd always had difficulty reaching, back when I couldn't easily hop onto the counter and balance myself with effortless grace. I wondered what I must look like…

"Bella?"

I jumped off the counter faster than a human could blink and hissed instinctively at the source of the sound. Some instincts are still alive.

Jacob Black was standing just outside the kitchen window, grinning like someone who had caught a friend in the act of doing something embarrassing. I huffed before I could stop myself. If I'd had feathers or fur I would've puffed myself up in indignation. Jacob smiled further, then suddenly let it drop, his mouth turning into a sour curve.

"Can I come in?" He asked.

I hesitated. I wasn't quite sure where we stood. I knew I didn't want to hurt him, but did he feel the same way about me? Did he see me as an enemy, like he apparently saw all vampires? We'd spent the evening in peace sitting next to each other the night before…but Charlie and Billy were there. He couldn't have attacked me without my father pulling out his shotgun.

"You know I can just kick the door in. I'm just being polite." He grumbled. He wouldn't be saying that if his intentions had been violent, would he?

I went to open the door and he stepped inside, his foot faltering for just a second as his eyes locked on my face.

"I…I have to prepare dinner." I told him awkwardly. At least it would give my hands something to do if there were too many awkward silences.

Jacob nodded and followed me back into the kitchen. Unfortunately my hands were way too swift in cutting up the onions, preparing the potatoes and taking out the fish. I decided to fling everything in a dish and into the oven. It couldn't taste bad, could it?

"Do you mind if we go outside?" He asked. "It kinda stinks of bloodsucker in here."

His harsh language caught me off guard. I knew he wouldn't be nice to Edward, but I hadn't expected him to behave the same when it was just us. Even though we hadn't really gotten to know each other well, I'd been under the impression he liked me.

"Yeah, sure." I shrugged as I glanced outside. It was overcast but the heat of spring could be felt even in the shade of the clouds. It would be comfortable.

I went to get a quilt at the top of the stairs and Jacob helped me spread it under the tree in the garden. His elbow brushed against mine for just a second. I froze, expecting the usual shocking pain…but nothing happened.

"I'm not going to attack you, honestly." Jacob rolled his eyes as he misinterpreted my reaction. "Just relax, Bells." His familiar use of my name caught me off guard. But it did have the effect to instantly put me more at ease. He sounded casual and friendly.

We sat down next to each other, but still making sure we didn't touch. We couldn't ignore the divide between us.

"It's crazy, really." I said as I flexed my fingers against the invisible wall. Jacob looked up, seeming relieved I'd been the first to speak. "Just because neither of us is really human anymore we suddenly have to act like we're not friends anymore."

"You thought of me as a friend?" He asked, suddenly sounding so young, much younger than his appearance seemed to suggest. It was hard to imagine from his tall and muscular physique that he was still just fifteen.

"I still do." I answered simply, trying to hide the rebellious undertone I could feel vibrating in my heart. It was unfair that just me having been bitten, which wasn't even my choice, would suddenly take away my right to choose my own friends. And even if it had been my choice, I would still think it unfair.

Jacob was silent in response. I wasn't quite sure what to make of that. Did he mean that he didn't want to be my friend anymore? Was he here as a kind of goodbye and from now on he would kill me if he saw me? I really couldn't handle that…

I waited patiently for him to open his mouth again.

"So…what happened to you, Bella?" He tried to keep his voice light and almost succeeded.

"It's a long story." I said reluctantly.

"I'll start with mine then." His eyes narrowed in the distance with determination. "Do you remember when you stumbled out onto the beach in La Push about two weeks ago?"

"Of course I do." I answered automatically, but I couldn't blame him for thinking I might not remember. I must've looked completely out of it.

"It was really strange…how my body reacted to your presence. I…" He cut off abruptly, sighing in frustration. He struggled for words to describe what he wanted to tell me. "At first I wasn't even sure it was you, you looked so different. I felt…but my body…it was like an alarm going off in my head." He stopped for a short period again. "Anyway, after I left you in the forest, for which I'm sorry by the way, I didn't mean to leave you so abruptly. But I didn't realise at the time that I was smelling the treaty line."

I nodded to him, both to acknowledge the existence of the treaty line and to make clear it hadn't bothered me at all the he'd left.

"I had just about the time to step through my front door before I collapsed. I ran a fever for about two days, barely conscious. I remember Sam coming to see me. I didn't understand why he was suddenly interested in me being sick.

"I phased for the first time while he was there. He…guided me through it. I thought I was going crazy, I swear…"

The emotion was still raw in his voice. I wanted to put my arms around him, to comfort him, tell him everything was okay. But he recollected himself before I could attempt any of that.

"I've barely had any sleep since becoming a werewolf." He chuckled to himself. "There's so much to learn and so much to get used to. Running around with the pack, learning to coordinate with them, testing our…limits."

Jacob saw my silent question in my eyes. He sighed before continuing. "There's really a lot to tell from my side too. We can communicate through our thoughts, while we are in wolf form, that is. It's practically unlimited."

He proceeded to telling me about all the strange things werewolves experienced, from the heated temper and heated body to the thought reading and the imprinting. That last one was the hardest for me to fathom. It didn't take long, he didn't linger on many details. But it left me wanting more. I was so curious. It was still mind-boggling, just the fact that werewolves even existed. I'd only learned about vampires three months before!

"Your turn." He said when he was finished. He looked relieved, like an enormous weight had dropped off his shoulders. I was grateful he was feeling better, happy I'd been able to help him in some way. But now he expected me to do my story. I wondered where to begin.

I decided to skip the details as well and just gave a general account of the conflict with James. "I was stupid enough to run into his trap in Phoenix while Edward was on his way to join us. James bit me." I flexed my hand in a reflex movement. "It was too late when the others arrived to get the venom out, so the change started. It was…complicated…changing on the road back to Forks, so Carlisle gave me some kind of new drug."

"What kind of drug?" Jacob inquired, seeming confused.

"Just, to help with the transition…" I answered vaguely. I tried to pick up my story but he interrupted me before I could continue.

"It's painful." It wasn't a question. His voice suddenly sounded dark and rough.

"A little." I admitted reluctantly. I looked at my hands, thinking whether I would dare ask. "Can I just…test something for a second?"

Jacob frowned at me in confusion and curiosity. "Sure."

I trembled slightly in anticipation as I moved slowly, very slowly approaching my hand to the arm that lay on his knee. I was so careful not to be brusque, in case it triggered a defensive instinct in him, like I knew frequently happened with me.

Just the top of my fingers rushed against his blazing skin, and when I still felt nothing I pressed the whole of my palm to his wrist. My hand seemed like pure, white ice in comparison to his hot, tan skin. I sighed in relief.

"What is it? Why are you acting so strange? Does it feel that good to touch me?" He joked, followed by a nervous laugh. His eyes were suddenly intensely holding mine.

I retracted my hand, feeling self-conscious as I averted my gaze. "Sorry. It's just that, you're one of the only two living creatures that I can touch without feeling the transition pain again. I already noticed that day at La Push. You touched me and nothing happened. But it's certain now. I don't feel anything."

"Anything?" He repeated. Was it me or was there a tone of disappointment buried under there? I didn't know how to respond. Flirting with him truly hadn't been my most mature decision. But it had really felt good. Not in a romantic way, but just…I felt allowed to be somewhat more immature with Jacob. He made me feel like it was okay to have a little fun. "So, why is it that you still feel pain with others? Do all bloodsuckers have that?"

"No. And stop calling them that!" I felt allowed to give him a slap on the arm, though not too hard, I was still afraid to hurt him. Jacob did have a human body after all.

"What? It's what they do, don't they? It's what you do." He couldn't repress a shudder of disgust at that. I bit my lip to hide the sting that comment had given me.

"As a matter of fact, I don't." I defended myself bitterly.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't suck blood."

"Oh yeah, sorry, drink blood." He drawled sarcastically. "Much better."

"If you're going to be like this…" I made to stand up. Charlie would be home soon anyway.

"Wait! Sorry!" Jacob caught my wrist. I pulled, expecting to free myself easily. But to my surprise it didn't give. "I still have to get used to it, you know. But I'm sorry, I'll behave." I tried to pull myself free one last time. It was useless. Jacob was stronger than me. That knowledge soured my mood considerably as I conceded and sat back down.

"Really, Bella." He insisted, thinking I was looking away because I was still angry about his words. I 'humpfed' in indignation and just pulled my knees to my chest. "What do you subsist on, then. Tell me." He pleaded. He did seem curious and impatient to know. He'd edged closer to me, his body slightly more angled toward me.

"So far, nothing." I shrugged as if it were no big thing.

"Wha…how…"

"I don't know. There's nothing I can eat. Blood disgusts me just as much as it disgusts you. I can't even keep it in when I try. Human food is only slightly less horrible, but to me it's not food. I haven't really ingested anything in six weeks, since I changed."

"Do you…can you die? Won't you like…starve or something?" He was now completely turned toward me, his eyes both fascinated and worried.

"I don't know." I answered honestly. "I can last quite a bit longer than a human without food. But it has a few side effects."

"Side effects, like what?"

"Like being considerably weakened. As a newborn vampire I should've been able to throw you through the house, punching Jacob-shaped holes through every wall before you landed a mile away."

Jacob laughed harder than I'd ever heard. "There's no way you could've done that." He said when he'd calmed down. I imagined my feathers/fur standing even straighter as my indignation intensified. "Oh, come on, Bells, don't be like that." He chuckled further as he glimpsed the grumpy face I was making.

"I totally could've taken you." I mumbled darkly, turning even further away from him.

"Sure sure." He said complacently, trying to placate me. "I guess you might've been slightly stronger than me. What else?"

I sighed. He really expected me to go on after he straight out laughed at me? "I'm really, really thirsty. Which makes me quite a bit more irritable. That and the fact that no one knows what will happen in the end."

There was a short silence as he processed that information. "Maybe you'll turn into some kind of living mummy." He tried to joke, but the amusement wasn't there.

I wondered about that. Maybe…maybe he was right in a way. It seemed vampires couldn't really die just by starvation. So maybe I would simply shut down, go into some kind of hibernation until my body could find the energy somehow to restart. It would be better than death. Though turning into a papery mummy wasn't exactly the most charming idea.

"I'm just joking, Bells." He shook my shoulder to try and get me out of my darkened mood. "Of course you won't turn into a mummy." He slung his arm around my shoulders now. I tensed. Not because of my defensive instinct, just because it was so unexpected. It was the first time he touched me in such a close manner. "What's the thing you hate the most about being…whatever you are?" He asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Right now being incredibly thirsty kinda sucks." It felt good to complain about it. I never really dared to honestly say what I felt with the Cullens. Not on that topic anyway.

"I can't imagine not eating in more than a month." Jacob agreed. "Since I first phased I feel like I need to eat a full meal every two hours."

"Billy must be complaining about the cost of groceries."

"Yeah." Jacob chuckled again, an affectionate smile hovering around his lips. "But Emily, Sam's girlfriend, feeds us a lot too. She's kind of the pack mother or something."

"Oh." Was all I could say. The way he described it, the werewolf pack felt like quite a comfortable family. "What do you hate the most about being a werewolf?" I asked.

"So many things!" Jacob burst out in complaint. "There're a lot of things that suck." He made a face. "Like for instance, just three days after I changed, this guy Kellen joined the pack. He's a senior at my school. He's such an asshole."

Before Jacob could spot my stifled reaction to the name we heard Charlie's cruiser park in front of the house. We hastened back into the house and I busied myself over dinner while Jacob greeted my father.

I'm sorry I haven't responded to any reviews so far. I don't understand why but I can't access them. I can see there are new reviews but when I click on it they don't show up. Can anyone help me? PM me if you can, I'd be very grateful.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

Aoiika