Chapter 3- I Won't Give In. Yes I Will. Will I?
Disclaimer: As awesome as it would be, I don't own any of these characters. They all come from the brilliant mind of Stephanie Meyer.
Summary: What happens when a wolf sees a certain girl in one's mind? Is it an imprint, or not? Will Jealously rear it's ugly head and blur the lines of friendship. Or will Understanding reign? ...And will Bella find her heart with a wolf that she never saw coming, or hush the call of Want, Love, and Trust? Rated M for violence, swearing, and future lemons.
Thanks to taoist elf for the amazing review and for the never-ending support! Love you, lady! Also thanks to Preetoaka Raven Potter Weasley and Dizzy4u for the awesome reviews. And thanks to everyone else who reviewed. Your feedback means a lot:)
Jared POV:
Waking up in the early morning..Wait..The middle of the night? I turn my head to glance at the clock on my bedside table. 3:30. Damn. I guess that now's as good a time as any to get up. I've got at least four or five hours until I make my way to Forks to see..her…
My mind drifts as I swing my legs over the edge of the mattress. The Beauty With The Doe Eyes. Those long, luscious soul-piercing eyes. Her cute little nose. Those lips. I wonder how'd they'd feel against me. Around m-
A sharp clacking noise brings me out of my stupor, and I find myself searing holes into the floor with my gawk once more. Just like yesterday, at Jacobs. Oh fuck, what am I going to do. All I want to do is see her, consume her. But, fuck me running!- Why? I- Another clack brings me back to reality once again. Man, I need to keep my psyche in check. I rotate my upper body around to see where the source of the noise was coming from. A rock against my window seems to have heralded Paul's random arrival below. I lean over and snap the lock on the window, sliding it open. I waste no time picking myself up off of the bed and backing away from said window. In a flash, he's briskly flying inside, through it.
Rubbing the back of my neck with one hand, I greet him with an abrupt "What do you want?"
"Cool your jets, dude. I'm here to help. So just shut the fuck up and listen."
"Geez, Paul. Come to terrorize me about the 'leech-lover' ?"
"Holy fucking shit! Slip of the tongue! If it bothers you so fucking much, I'll watch my talking about the lee- her."
"I'm sorry. I was just thinking about…And I don't know what I'm gonna do. Just a little on edge."
He lets out a huff of amusement. "Ya think?"
I only nod my assent.
"Look. I'm here to help. I may not be good at the mushy romantic stuff. Hell, I can't even count the number of girls that I've…courted."
Now it was my turn to huff, springing a crooked smile to life upon my face. Courted…Riiiight. (We've been friends since we were tykes, and I love the guy. However, he is indeed the manwhore of La Push these days.)
"But I can tell you that, whatever it is, you've got it for the lee- for Bella, bad. Don't fight it, Jared. It can't be good for you if you do."
I make no attempts to hide the sigh that exits my mouth, nor the look of confusion and adoration for Bella in my eyes, as I stealthily voice my response. "I just…I don't know, Paul. What if it is an imprint? Jacob just became part of the Pack, a brother. It's pretty damn obvious how he feels about her. He's already had his life turned upside down in one day. Can I turn it over again, just because my world's turned topsy-turvy again? I mean…fuck…What if Sam's right and this is the sign of an imprint, and she doesn't want it? I don't think that I can face that. All I want to do is.."
I can tell that he's slowly losing his patience during my outburst of a monologue, but he remains collected and cool, letting me get out what I need to. "..is see her. Be near her. Holy fucking Christ on a cracker! What do I do? One second I'm anxious and can't wait to see her. The next, I'm sweating over the fact that I have to. Fuck Sam, for alpha-ordering my ass!"
The quietness in my little, ramshackle bedroom is almost palpable. Finally, after who knows how long, figuring that I'm done rambling, speaks on calmly.
"I know man. I know. But you've gotta do it. Even without Sam's order, I'd be telling you the same thing. I may have never been in love, at least not yet, but I know that what you feel for her already is more than just some little crush. If Sam's right, staying away from her will eat you alive eventually. And even if she wasn't aware of it, it'd do the same thing to her. If it is what we think it is, then we'll deal with Jacob when the time comes; in time he will come to terms with it."
"But, what if I-"
"No. Fuck the questions swimming up there," he points a poignant finger towards my head, "I know that this is ridiculously hard on you man, and it's complicated to hell and back…But you've got to do it."
I tighten my lips into a straight A-line, but nod my head once again. Whether it'd be easier to believe it or not, I know that Paul's right. Sam's right. I've got to do this.
"Right. Well, I've got to go. 4:30. Sam's got me on patrol before breakfast." He makes his way back to the window, sitting on the ledge and twisting so that only half of his body's left inside the room. "You gonna be alright?"
"Yeah. Go ahead, man."
As soon as he exit I pulls the window closed and reattach the lock to its latch. Sitting in the comfort of my bed, head in hands and thoughts of the doe-eyed beauty swarming my thoughts past capacity, minutes fly by. Hours? Who knows. Better check that shit out. 6:45 If I get myself together now, I should be able to make it to Emily's for breakfast on time and still reach Bella's by 8:30. Pushing off of the divan, I cross the room to the bathroom. Hopefully a shower will relax me.
I strip myself of my boxer, and open the shower door. Stepping inside and rotating the knob towards the "H" side, there's no need to wait for it to heat up. One of the small advantages of being a wolf I guess- never getting cold.
I try to steady my thoughts, but I soon find myself growling at myself; mad at the random and potent erection with the thought of her. What am I going to do? C'mon Jared, keep your thoughts straight. You've gotta keep your wits about you today. Switching the water to the "C" side of things, it takes a little while, but I calm down enough that I won't have to hide a stiffy in my trouser all damn day.
After finishing up a longer-than-intended shower, I tie my cutoffs to my leg before jumping out of the window and landing. Phasing, I start my run towards Emily and Sam's. Paul must understand that I need this time to think and blow off some steam, because all that he does to make me fully aware of his presence in my head is mentally mutter a comical "Glad to see that you're still with us!"
I take my time getting there. Paul must have beaten me here, Embry too, because I can hear their cackling before I even touch the brink of the premises. I phase back and yank on my cutoffs, plodding up the porch steps. As I enter the house, picking a seat at the table and snatching up a muffin, Sam looks my way.
"How you doing today, brother?"
"Alright. Just preparing myself for trouble," I laugh lightly.
"You mean 'Bella-prepping'?" Embry chimes in. I'm not surprised that they've already filled him in.
In my peripherals I can see Paul smirking like a mad man. Of courrrrse…He's the one doing the talking. Caring or not, Paul's still Paul.
"Embry, kill it." Sam's instantly on it.
"What? You've gotta admit, it is a little funny."
Laughing at my own expense once more, my body vibrates as I slap Embry on the back from where he sits next to me. "It's okay Sam. Where's Jacob?"
"I told him to come by a few minutes later. Thought that we should talk before he got here."
"It's okay. Paul beat you to it."
He rolls his eyes. "Paul!"
"Hey! Don't lose it there, Alpha! Just thought that I'd talk to him."
"So we're good." Sam glance back my way.
"Yeah. Nervous as hell, but we're good."
"Alright. Go and see her after breakfast. I'm putting Jacob on patrol with Paul this morning."
No sooner does he finish his sentence, that we can hear Jacob approaching the grounds.
He rushes into the kitchen, knocking things and panting wildly.
"Sam…Sam! It's Bella!"
Bella…Oh God, no!
He's standing at Jake's side in a second, worry etched on his face…But I know that part of that worry is for me.
"Jacob, breathe! What is it? Is Bella okay?"
"She's okay now…But she tried t- she tried to cliff dive, and knocked herself out. I saw her right before she jumped and dove in after her. I drove her home in her truck, but Charlie busted in the door the moment we got there, asking me to come and find you."
"Why Jake? What does Charlie want?"
"Harry Clearwater had a heart attack."
An extreme hush takes over the room. My mind is screaming at me. Poor Harry. Oh, Bella…The fucker! Why didn't he insist on staying with her? Someone should be with her. Is she safe? I have to know! Bella…
All of a sudden, Old Quil blasts through the threshold.
I can't think of anything but Bella, but somewhere, deep in the back of my mind, Sam's alpha bass registers.
"Quil. What's happened? What's going on?"
"Harry Clearwater! He had a heart attack. Leah and Seth are distraught, Sue's a mess. Sam…Harry's gone. We think that it may have had something to do with a Cold One."
The rest of my brothers jump out of their seats right along with me at that moment.
"Easyyy. Oh, Leah…Poor Sue. Seth. I'm on it."
"Charlie's looking for you. He knows how close you've been with the Clearwaters and wants you to be there. He's on his way there right now. Harry was one of his closest friends, and he doesn't know if he can do it on his own."
"Right. I'm on my way right now. Paul, Embry, scout out the area. Jacob, you stay here with Emily. Jared?"
My gaze inadvertently snaps from where it's been focused (past Old Quil, and out the open doorway) to shoot into Sam's intense stare. I'm sure that my eyes read pure lupine right now.
"Jared. I want you to go over to Bella's. Make sure that she's safe. Stay with her until I come and get you, or send someone after you."
I can't do anything but nod in response, jaw set steady. By the end of today, I'm sure that my head will fall off of my neck from all of the nodding. Regardless, I nod. I know why he's doing this. He's doing it for me.
Jacob doesn't seem to like the idea of someone else taking care of her. "But wait! Sam! Why can't I go? Jared can stay with Em-"
"No Jacob. Your feelings toward her will make the situation all the more vulnerable. Jared will be the one to go."
"But, Sam, I-"
"That's an order, Jacob."
He groans, but reluctantly subsides. I almost feel bad for him, but my thoughts are stuck and scrambled with worry for Bella.
"Jared, go now."
That's all that I need to be busting out of the door and phasing before I even hit the tree line. Oops, forgot about the cutoffs. They shred as I phase, midair. That's gonna be a tough one to explain to her. Thankfully, Embry comes dashing out of the house before I make it past the their property.
"Sam heard the shorts ripping. Here." He ties a pair of cutoffs to my leg. "Now, go man, go!"
I take off once again. It's not long before I realize that I have no idea where, on Taka Aki's green earth, where her house is. But somehow I find my where there anyway. I stop amongst the trees behind her house and phase back, pulling on the cutoffs. I stand there quietly, only for a moment. She's inside. I just know, she's here. Deep breaths, Jared. Deep breaths. On the plus side, at least she already knows what you are. (Paul let me in on a little secret once phased before I got here- she caught him phasing one time about a month ago, and of course he and Sam had to explain it to her. How I didn't know about it 'til now, I don't know. I'm just glad that she does.)
I rapidly march my way up the front porch stairs. She's so close, I can smell her. Ginger and jasmine. Oh, go- Focus! Raising my fist up, I knock on the door a couple of times. In a minutes time she's there, opening the door. I don't know why, but at first I can't bring myself to look at her, keeping my line of sight focused on the cement below my shoes.
"Umm…Hi. Are you a friend of Jacob's?" The sweetest voice I've ever heard. My ears hum in ecstasy.
I shift my weight from foot to foot. "Uh, yeah. And Paul's, Sam's. You know them?"
She lets out a soft gasp, and I know that she understand right away.
"So..You're, a…Umm.."
For some unknowable reason, her uneasiness has a calming effect on me. Maybe it's because he mood is matching mine. Instantly, I find my sunny self inching it's way back to the surface.
Still staring at my shoes, I smile. "Yeah..Sorry I didn't introduce myself. I'm Jared. We found out about what happened with Harry and your cliff diving..experiment," it's taking all of me not to growl at the thought of her putting herself in danger, "and Sam wanted me to look in on you. Stay with you for the day to make sure that you're safe."
"Oh, hi Jared. I'm Bella.. Of course I'm sure that you already know that." She lightly chortles, diffusing some of the tension. "Do you want to come in?"
"That'd be a good idea, unless you'd like me to visit with you from the porch all day. I could shout to you through the window?" She laughs again. I made her laugh… I smile again at the thought.
"No, umm..That's okay. Come on in."
Bella pulls back the door and steps aside, letting me inside. I move about on my heels to shut the door for her, but she beats me to it. She turns around but ends up placing herself a mere few inches from me, caught between my body and the door; almost falling into me. Not thinking, in our silly mishap, I lift my gaze.
Caught in the most intense stare of my life, my black orbs are lost in her chocolate orbs. Her mouth opens, letting out a slow shuddering breath so close to me that it smooth over my skin. All velvet and silk, electricity spiking within.
Oh. God. Bella…
Guess Sam was right.
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Playlist- Chapter 3:
1. "With Or Without You (U2 Cover)" - Breathe Carolina
2. For You Blue" -The Beatles
3. "Closer To The Heart" -Rush
4. "Pretty Girl From Chile" -Avett Brothers
5. "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" -The Beatles
6. "So He Won't Break" -The Black Keys
7. "Perfectly Flawed" -Otep
8. "You Had Me At Hello" -A Day To Remember
9. "I Still Feel Her - Part IV" -Emarosa
10. "Frozen Creek" -Circa Survive
11. "The Longest Mile" -Circa Survive
12. "Recycled Air" -The Postal Service
13. "Cloud Nine" -Evanescence
14. "O…Saya" -M.I.A.
15. "Soul To Squeeze" -Red Hot Chili Peppers