Emmett Pov

It was easy enough to hear what was going on in the house, but Emmett really was disappointed they couldn't see it too. "Hello Bella," Billy Black spoke up as Bella got downstairs. "Good to see you again. How's living with this big lug going?"

"This is boring, when is she going upstairs with the kid?" Emmett sighed heavily as the hellos continued inside.

"This isn't a tv show, there is no fast forward." Rosalie told him, and he glanced over at her rather than continue to just stare at the house.

"So how is the new school?" Billy Black was still asking questions.

"It's okay, better than Phoenix anyway." Bella said and Emmett grinned, glad she'd gotten out of that school.

"Bella has a good group of friends and from what I hear she's way better at school than her old man was." Charlie added, since Bella wasn't saying much.

"It's not actually hard." Bella muttered and Emmett chuckled.

"Sounds like Bella is as bored in class as we are." He turned to look at Rosalie when he said that. She still looked a little tense. "What is it?" He spoke more softly.

"I don't like them around her." Rosalie managed. "If he breaks that damned treaty I'm going fold that piece of shit truck around him so tight the jaws of life and all night won't be enough to get him out."

Emmett moved to stand on her branch and wrapped an arm around her, while glancing at that truck Rosalie was talking about. "It'll be okay. He won't want to break that treaty, they're all so nervous about us doing it, he won't want to make it void."

"Sometimes the Forks kids come to La Push," A younger male voice spoke up, so that must be Jacob. Emmett held Rosalie gently and listened in. "Who are your friends?" Rosalie tensed just a little.

Bella was taking a bit too long to answer and Emmett grimaced, as he could tell Rosalie expected trouble. "Emmett, Alice, Rosalie, those are the people I hang out with the most." Bella spoke in such a way Emmett could imagine a careless shrug after her words. It didn't make him feel the love. They were the only people she hung out with.

"What's their last name?" The old man spoke and Rosalie hissed quietly. He hugged her a little tighter.

"Hale, well, and Cullen." Bella added and there was silence.

"Cullen?" The old man didn't sound happy at all.

"Now, Billy, none of that." Charlie spoke up. "Those kids never cause any trouble and they've been real good friends for Bella."

"Sounds like he's barely keeping with the treaty, if Chief Swan already knows this is trouble." Rosalie muttered.

"Those Cullens are dangerous." Billy Black spoke, and Emmett glared at the wall between them and the room Bella was sitting in.

"So you don't like them?" Bella spoke slowly, firmly.

"No, they aren't good friends to have, Bella." Billy spoke quickly.

"Okay, so I guess I won't introduce you to them. Let me tell you this," Here Emmett started to grin a little as Bella hissed out the last word, a hint that she was not pleased. "I make my own decisions about the people I chose to hang out with. I like them. I want you to think about that, and any time you feel like telling me that my friends aren't worth being my friends, keep it to yourself. I know how you feel now, no need to repeat it."

"I see." Billy Black sure didn't sound pleased.

"I'm going to go play some video games. Enjoy the baseball game." Bella's chair made a sound as it was moved.

"She's," Rosalie stopped speaking and Emmett looked down into her eyes. They were a little blacker, showing she'd been upset. "She's good."

"Yeah, won't take much tutoring to make her a real bitch on wheels, will it." Emmett teased. His Rosalie could hold the title in that at times.

"Hey, Bells, I'm sorry about what my dad said." The young boy sounded like he'd followed her. "It's silly, some stories,"

"I don't want to hear it." Bella sighed. "So baseball game or video games, what you want?"
"Right now, I think I'll take the video games." The boy sounded so upbeat, like he was getting an in. Emmett glanced at the house and the tree in the front yard.

Emmett glanced at the house again. "I bet we might be able to actually see into her room from the tree out front." He had to move quick though, because Bella was bringing the boy upstairs. "Come on." He grinned and leapt down from the tree they'd started in. It was already dark, so it wasn't hard at all to make it across Bella's yard so he could get up and get some view of the action.

"We might want to warn her that the tree gives such a good view of her room." Rosalie spoke up when she finally got up next to him.

"Oh yeah, I can see that conversation, 'Bella, I'm concerned, when I was spying on you the other night I saw how very easy a peeping tom would have it if they decided to watch you. I mean you didn't even see me, you'd never see a pervert.'" Emmett chuckled as Rosalie huffed at him. He settled into the branches and relaxed as he waited. "Next time the weathers bad, I might come and break a branch or two." He told Rosalie quietly, he could make it so humans couldn't really climb this tree, just a little muscle was needed, but the door was opening and he waited with a grin to see the boy's face when he finally got a good look at the pictures Emmett picked out.

They could hear Charlie laying down the law about bothering Bella about her friends again and Emmett liked that her BFF's dad was on their side. There was no way he'd want Bella banned from seeing them. It was bad enough they were limited because of Edward.

…

Bella Pov

Bella had hoped to avoid a confrontation about her being friends with the Cullens, but her luck didn't hold out. Hopefully Billy didn't cause trouble. At least she did have a way to leave him behind, the old man wouldn't be able to come upstairs. Jacob was following her, but he was a little subdued. Bella figured it was because she'd gotten into it with his father a little. She had to though, she had to keep anyone from saying too much. It was a struggle to remain ignorant, officially.

She opened the door and stepped inside. She didn't look around, instead she moved to stand in front of the tv and watched Jacob as she turned it, and the PS2 on. The boy was smiling and friendly, almost puppyish, in how he bounced back from the embarrassing scene downstairs. When she was his age she would have had a much harder time shrugging that off. As he came in he glanced around the room like everyone does when they go to a new place, his eyes taking in the larger things.

She had a controller in her hand to hand to him when she saw him actually register what she had on the walls. His eyes widened and his permanent grin faded, but his jaw dropped open a little in it's place. "Ah, nice room." He muttered.

She glanced around and took in all the things that really kept it from being that, and when she turned back to him she saw him studying the magazines on her dresser. "Oh, Charlie's great about letting me decorate however I want." Bella did her best to try and smile. "So I only have one game. I borrowed the system from Emmett."

"That's fine." He gave an awkward looking smile back and took the controller. They had to sit on the bed to do this, but luckily it was roomy enough they didn't have to get close. Bella had the bed set on the wall so it could double as a couch for the tv, long way facing it. Bella started through the menu, but she wondered if she should be talking about her decorations instead.

"My favorite piece is the one in the corner." She grinned and pointed out the woman in a black teddy. She had bedroom eyes, or maybe that was what Alice meant by sex eyes, but she also had an element of class.

"Yeah, that's nice." Jacob sounded a little hesitant. She started up the game and she was battling her own indecision of what to do next just as hard as she fought in that game. Jacob solved that for her. "So, what's up with all the women on the walls?"

"Oh," Bella glanced around as if it weren't anything she ever thought of much. "I like women." She then proceeded to beat Jacob's character bloody. It was kind of against her nature, to destroy him when he was just learning the game, but Alice said to do it. She didn't coddle him and explain the game, she didn't give him a chance to learn to fight back, she just destroyed him.

"Hell, yeah," She borrowed Emmett's gaming words as she hit Jacob's character for the last time. It feel fast. "That's what I'm talking about."

"You're good at this." Jacob said as she turned to look at the boy. He didn't look scandalized to have lost to her, which was a good thing actually. Some boys might not take that well. "So, you're like gay?" He asked slowly, as if unsure he should even ask it.

"Oh yeah." She looked over at him with a grin. "So, did you want to continue to play, or are you going to go back downstairs with your tail between your legs because I beat you so bad?"

He gave her a hint of a smile. "I think I can take your beating." His eyes were still friendly, but not overly friendly, that sense of creepy crush was smaller. Bella was glad to see it might actually work. Obviously more might need to be done, but they started up the game again and this time Jacob was trying much harder.

…..

Emmett Pov

Bella and Jacob had gone downstairs to get pizza when it arrived, but they were quickly back up in her room with plates in their hands. Emmett thought that at least that meant Bella wasn't near Billy Black. He wasn't as okay with her seeing her dad's friends after the old man had started something with Bella because she was so awesome as to be able to be friends with vampires.

"So you like girls?" Jacob spoke quieter and Emmett rolled his eyes.

"Idiot." Rosalie muttered and Emmett gave her a small grin.

"Any girls in particular?" Jacob asked and there was a little bit of amusement in his voice. Emmett chuckled a little as he wondered if Bella Bear would admit she was a Cullen fan.

"I've been here three weeks." Bella sighed heavily, and acted like that was an answer.

"Note to self, Bella lies, she's a liar." Emmett grinned and ignored the elbow that Rosalie hit him with.

"Actually, she didn't lie." Rosalie defended her, "she just doesn't want to tell that wanna be dog her business."

"So, who's that?" Jacob spoke and Emmett leaned forward a little to see the boy had noticed the picture of his Rosie. He could also see Bella freeze for a moment, and he frowned. Bella bear didn't have a lie ready? She knew this was coming.

"Lillian." Was the name Bella dragged out of the air, and since Emmett was watching her and Jacob wasn't, he could tell she'd made that up on the spot. Rosalie gasped and he watched the human girl more carefully.

"Just Lillian?" Jacob made Rosalie's middle name a song.

"Uh, Lillian Branden." Bella made a face, as if disgusted with her choice of a name, while Jacob moved to the side of her bed and picked up the picture to study it. Emmett found it really strange that Bella guessed Rosalie's middle name. "We dated for a little while in Phoenix."

"You tapped that, her body looks fine. Too bad we can't see her face here." Jacob spoke a little louder, sounding impressed and Emmett chuckled.

"I didn't 'tap' anything you god damned dog." Bella scolded him and Rosalie had to hold onto Emmett, because he was laughing. "I dated her, as in we went out a bit."

"She's defending you, even when it isn't supposed to be you." Emmett said and turned with a smile to look at Rose, but his smile faded to something sweeter when he saw her eyes. Rosalie was once again impressed with Emmett's Bella Bear. "I better watch out or that human's going to steal my girl right out from under my nose." He teased quietly.

"Oh shush." Rosalie told him, with a hint of a smile, and then focused on the room, where story time was about to start.

"She was a senior," Bella started.

Emmett chuckled. "She's making you older."

"That's not actually possible." Rosalie muttered and then shushed him again.

"and the only good thing about Phoenix High." Bella's voice held her irritation well, it almost sounded real. "When I ate in the library she'd visit me. In class she moved to have the seat next to me." Emmett stopped his teasing smile and started to really listen to Bella, because she sounded real now. "You can't see it all here, but she's gorgeous. I expected she'd be a bitch, you know, like gorgeous people sometimes are, but she has a heart of gold. She has the trifecta, beauty, brains, and personality. It really wasn't fair. I didn't have a chance."

"So you did ask her out?" Jacob filled in a quiet moment.

"I did manage that, and we had a great time. I never had a better time, and she planned it all." Bella grinned, and it was a sad smile, which Emmett didn't really like. "Romantic dinner, museum, shopping, I think it'll be a long time before I have a date that good again."

"What happened?" The boy asked gently and Emmett found himself wanting to know as well. It sounded like a sad story. He didn't like it. He'd been expecting bragging about getting 'some of that' and widely exaggerated stories about her stamina. Rosalie practically gave Bella permission to claim she'd 'tapped that', and still Bella wasn't.

"Ah," Bella's voice was a little stronger and she shook her head. "Well, I was good, but Emma was better."

"I think you're Emma." Rosalie whispered to him, but he knew it, it was actually the name Jasper would tease him with when they wrestled. Bella took their day out in Seattle and turned it into the fictional date, in fact a lot of what this Lillian did was really Rosalie. Bella was taking using Rose as her fake girlfriend seriously and using it all.

"Shit." Jacob muttered.

"Yeah, so I'm not gonna be dating for a little while." Bella let out a heavy breath.

"Brilliant." Rosalie whispered and Emmett turned to see his wife staring at Bella as if she were giving the performance of a lifetime. He almost expected slow, heartfelt, applause.

"Girls can rip hearts out." Jacob muttered. "Ever think?"

"What?" Bella looked over at him and away from the photo.

"Well, did you ever think it might be easier with a guy?"

"Idiot." Rosalie growled.

"Well, not really. Think about this, pick a guy you get along with that looks okay. Now imagine being in a relationship with him." Bella told him this as if it were some sort of meditation imagery. "Are you feeling all warm and fuzzy?"

"Ugh." Jacob gave her an odd look.

"Yeah, that's what I think." Bella told him. "Now would that be easier?"

"No, not at all. I can barely keep my pizza down." Jacob told him.

"Totally exaggerating." Rosalie whispered her opinion.

"I'm patient, I can wait for something real." Bella spoke and it sounded just a little more hopeful. Hopefully his Bella Bear wouldn't have to wait for long. Emmett knew he'd been lucky enough to find his mate right after being turned, very lucky, because he knew vampires that were waiting a hundred, even a thousand years, for that connection.

"I really lucked out when you found me." Emmett spoke softly as he turned to look at his Angel. She gave him a soft smile, but when she looked back at Bella Emmett could see Rosalie was a little troubled. Her eyebrows were just a little closer, her lips turned down just a hint.

"I think I can beat you if we play another round." Jacob spoke up and the story time ended.

"Do you think it was just a story, or are we really hurting her?" Rosalie asked quietly while they sat and watched the video game going on.

"I think Bella knows how lucky I am," Emmett spoke seriously, because Rosalie looked worried, "and Jasper talks about lust and guilt, but he never says anything about jealousy. Even if she could go there, Bella isn't letting herself and I think that means she's just fine." He grinned a little. "So maybe she might have a few x-rated fantasies about you and maybe it's a full cast with Esme and Alice too, but she knows what's real and what isn't."

…..