Chapter 2: Cursed

Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight

A/N: Hope you can keep up with all the shifts in POV. I guess that makes me a scatterbrain, huh?

I called Jacob first thing when I got home, hoping no one in the house heard me. I asked my pack mate, "What are we gonna do about patrol, Jake? The rest of the guys will be in our heads."

"I'll tell you what we're gonna do. We're gonna concentrate on the job, or our first visit with the gypsy, and try not to stray from that. Hopefully, the week will be over before we blow it."

"Easy for you to say, you have more control over your thoughts than me."

"Ya think?"

"Hey, man, you have to admit tho', I pretty much keep Chelle off the grid."

"Yeah, thank you for that at least."

% % % % %

Jeez, patrol tonight, and I was gettin' reeeaaaaly nervous. Steady, Jake, steady. You got this.

Paul and I reached the tree line at the same time. Sam, Jared and Leah were already there, waitin'. I glanced at Paul, who let out a long, loud breath, and gave me a knowin' look. We shifted, and took off.

Man, it was hard to concentrate on one thing, but Paul and I did it. We only had a couple more patrols this week—one down, two to go.

% % % % %

Torture, pure torture, I tell ya. Glad that was over for now. For the time being, I had to plan how to avoid Chelle for days on end.

I couldn't decide which situation was worse. I was afraid that I'd forget myself and cozy up with my girl. What a disaster that would be. Damn gypsy. Is that how she got off, by ruining other people's lives?

% % % % %

I heard the bangin' on the damn door, and went bleary-eyed to open it, forgetting whose body I had on. Ugh, I was in my boxers and not exactly dressed for company. Paul and I had just come back from patrol duty, and afterwards, I'd just dropped onto the bed, exhausted.

"Come on, Paul, answer the door."

It was Rachel, crap! "Wait a minute; let me put my pants on."

I heard her say, "You don't have to do that on my account, stud."

What? Jeez, it was embarrassin' to have her talk like that, to me of all people. Hoooollleeey—I hope she wouldn't come onto me. That would be totally sick. What the hell was I gonna do?

Where were his clothes? Why the hell didn't I check them out yesterday when I had the chance? I opened the closet door, and was bombarded with fancy-schmansy duds. I needed everyday clothes, not stuff for Dancin' with the Stars. Rummaging thru the dresser, I finally found some Levi's. Zippin' up my jeans, I heard her yell, "How long does it take to put on a stinkin' pair of pants? Hurry up, will you? I'm freezing my butt off out here."

As soon as the door opened, she lunged at me, grabbin' the collar of my tee, tryin' to plant one on me. Damn, woman, show some restraint. I jerked back quickly outta target range.

Rachel was pissed. "What's wrong with you? First Jake, now you."

"Morning breath."

"Never stopped you before."

"Yeah, well, I'm turning over a new leaf." A lotta new leaves … actually, a huge treefull.

% % % % %

"I don't know, Curro, it was really suspicious. Jake was singing a song over and over in his head, and Paul kept thinking about our encounter with the lady on the rez. It was like the two of them were trying to hide something. You don't suppose …?"

Curro slapped his palm to his forehead. "Madre de Dios. Mi pobre amigo. Si, I do believe it to be so. Ai, yi, yi! What can we do for him?"

"Nothing that I know of. I'll go to Paul's apartment and see what's what."

. . . . .

What the hell! I banged and banged on the door. He was in there, all right, because the pickup was parked outside. Sniffing the air, I caught his scent more strongly, then saw him climbing out his bedroom window. Hmn, strange. Wait … now that I thought about it, their thoughts were … how could I explain it? Paul's thoughts were in Jake's voice, and vice versa. I was the only one close enough to notice.

That nailed it. The gypsy was good for her word. What a tangled up mess this was. That stupid Paul. He never did know when to keep his big mouth shut. He really did it this time. He messed with the wrong person.

% % % % %

That whole stupid week, I had to come up with one excuse after another to avoid gettin' too close to my sister, if ya get my drift. I was too tired, after gettin' off patrol, or gettin' ready to go on one—that or climb outta the window whenever her car pulled up to the curb. Man, this was wearin' me down. I wanted my own body back.

If I ever saw Bella, I had to be careful not to act too friendly. She and Paul didn't actually play nice together. Okay … so they hated each other's guts, but drew up a truce for Rachel's sake.

% % % % %

I was sitting at the dinner table three days later, when Chelle asked, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Great—I was ready to bite into a slab of deer, and she wanted to talk. "Sure." Whoops, I quickly added another, "Sure." Why the hell does he say that anyway?

She walked around the table, and said to Billy, "Can you excuse us for a moment? I've got something important to talk to Jake about."

Billy looked up from his plate. "Doesn't bother this ol' man. Have at it."

. . . . .

"I just don't get it. Paul seems to be avoiding me. He's either too tired from patrolling, or getting ready to go out on patrol. Bye—see ya! It's one excuse after another.

"Is he mad at me for spending so much time on this party? Oh my gosh! You don't think he has another woman on the side, do you?"

"Nah, his heart is yours. We've been really busy patrollin' lately. I'm sure it'll pass."

"Well, it better, because I'm sick of it."

Phew, close one. Seventy two hours to go. But, would I last that long?

% % % % %

The next time we patrolled—same scenario, so I followed Paul/Jake home to his apartment. "Hey, Black, no use running from me," I shouted through the door. "I'll just phase and chase your tail down. And you know I can do it. Your secret is safe with me. The gypsy woman did a number on you, didn't she?"

The door swung open and Paul/Jake stuck his head out. "Whaddya talking about."

"Get real. You can stop pretending. You and Paul, thinking in a loop all night … What is it? Mrs. Rita forbids you to tell anyone that you've been cursed?"

"I can't—"

"Look, moron, you didn't say a thing. I guessed it, so you're off the hook. Anyhow, how long will this hex stay on you?"

"Two more days, then we havta shingle her roof."

I laughed. Sorry, but it was funny. "Wow! Free labor. She is one smart cookie."

"Hey, listen, Leah, please don't let the cat outta the bag. You were right, she said if we told anyone while the spell was … active, I guess … that it can never be removed."

"Okay, you got it, Jake. Mum's the word. It's not like I haven't tucked away our own little curse for these many years."

"Thanks, Leah. You're a pal."

"And don't you ever forget it."

% % % % %

Bella was over at the house again, dammit. She couldn't seem to stay away from Jake. The girl was like a piece of adhesive tape, and she was snuggled up to me on the lumpy sofa. I was trying to watch some stupid chick flick she brought over—booorrriiing. I couldn't help the series of yawns that fled from my mouth in protest.

"All right," she sighed. "I can tell you're not really into the movie. So, just turn it off."

Relief at last. But then with the TV off, she began to get frisky. Damn, Jacob was gonna kill me. But, hey, it wasn't my fault. Bella started it, and man, she was all over me. Let's face it, I was a veritable chick magnet. Oh, crap, wait … I was in Jake's body, so what did that say about my animal magnetism? Bummer.

While my brain was busy going over how Jacob was gonna cream me, his girl hopped onto my lap, and began running her fingers through my hair. I'm not gonna lie and say it wasn't nice—really nice. But then her lips found their way to mine, and my—well, Jake's body—reacted. Damn, that girl was wearing me down, and I didn't even like her. It was no secret that we couldn't stand each other, but man, those lips wanted to be friends with mine, and I was a very friendly guy.

What the hell, I had to go along with the charade, right? So, I hopped on board for the ride, giving my urges first priority. Guilty thoughts about my Chelle popped into my head though, after a few torrid kisses and manhandling. Stop, I had to stop, hormones notwithstanding. So, I pulled back away from her, and politely lifted her off my lap.

Her mouth pouted up, and she whined, "What's wrong, Jake?"

"Nothin', it's just that Rach and Dad will be home soon."

"Oh, pooh, Rachel said, they'd be gone for hours."

Now what? Think, Paul, think. Hunger, okay, hunger; that's it. "I'm so hungry. All I can think about is food."

Bella stood straight up, her hands fisted on her hips. "Geesh. You're always complaining that I put the brakes on you, and now, you're telling me you're hungry?"

"Bells, honey, can't you hear my stomach grumblin'?"

Whoa, she got all huffy, and hissed, "Well, go fix yourself something to eat then. I'm going home."

Saved by the bell. "Don't get mad. I can't help it if my stomach won't cooperate with your plans of seduction."

With eyes on fire, she exclaimed, "Jacob Black—you are impossible!"

She slapped my arm, grabbed her backpack, and stormed out the door, trailing flames of fury.

Dodged that bullet. Poor Jake, that chick had a mean temper. Yeah, I know. I shouldn't be calling the kettle black, eh?

% % % % %

Seein' Bella, but not being able to touch her or speak to her was killin' me. In the meantime, Paul came over to complain. "Man, Jake, that girl of yours was hot to trot last night, and I haven't seen any action in six whole days. I'm telling ya, I was tempted, even tho' she doesn't really appeal to me."

I jumped up from the futon, and pinned him to the wall. "Read my lips, Paul—I don't want you touchin' her, breathin' on her, or anything else for that matter. When it comes time to love my Bella in every way possible, I wanna be in my own freakin' body to do it. Understand me?"

"Chill out, pal. I said I was tempted. Nothing happened, I swear."

He took a step back. "Good, 'cuz I'll pound you royally."

"I know!"

% % % % %

"Just for the record, did you kiss her?"

I shrugged. "Well, yeah. I had to play the part, didn't I? What was I supposed to do, spill the beans about being in your body?

"Look … I just lifted her off my lap, and—"

Damn, he was in my face again. "Whaaaat? She was on your lap?"

I could almost see smoke coming out his ears. "It was her idea, not mine, pal."

"I don't give a sh** whose idea it was."

"Chill out! I swear, a couple of kisses." And some extensive groping. "That's all."

"Yeah, well, that's enough. We only have one more day to suffer. So, just try to stay away from her, huh?"

"Easy for you to say; you don't know what the hell you're missing."

"True, but I have some pretty sweet dreams."