Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Bella hadn't been sleeping well since the night that someone had broken into the house. Even with Paul there she would be up half the night. She sat in the gym with her chin almost touching her chest as Jessica gave her valedictorian speech. She didn't know how much more she could take.
Her eyes were half closed as Jessica brought her speech to a close and everyone started clapping. She shook her head to clear the cobwebs then clapped halfheartedly. Jessica sat down next to her, giving her a worried glance.
Her eyes drooped once more as the principle started calling names. She must have dozed off because she felt someone nudge her and she felt like every eye in the room were on her. She sighed before rising from her seat. She walked up the stairs and across the stage to the principle in a daze. When she took her seat again she felt someone's eyes on her.
She looked over her shoulder to see Jasper giving her a calming, steely eyed look. She sank back against the seat as she waited for everything to be over. Jasper walked past her to accept his diploma two minutes later and she heaved a sigh of relief that it was over.
She got the feeling that her day was just about to begin. She had pleaded with her dad when he mentioned that he wanted to throw her a graduation party. She just knew that when she got home there were going to be people there wanting to celebrate. All she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and go to sleep.
Her dad took at least a hundred pictures of her before he decided that he was ready to leave. The car ride home was silent as she tried to fall asleep with her head against the window.
"Are you alright? You look a little pale," he asked as they turned onto their street.
"I just want to go to sleep," she mumbled.
"That might be a problem," he cautioned sheepishly.
"I asked you not to throw me a graduation party," she said with a groan.
Sure enough, when they pulled up the driveway and street in front of the house were filled with cars. She wasn't sure if she knew that many people in Washington.
"Who all did you invite Dad?"
"I went through your phone and started calling people."
"Thanks Dad," she said with a halfhearted smile.
"You'll sleep well tonight," he said as he patted her shoulder.
She got out of the car to be enveloped in a hug on two sides. She yelled in surprise as Seth and Leah started talking at once.
"Easy you two, she's a little out of sorts right now," Charlie warned.
"What's going on?" Leah asked in concern.
"Nothing much, Vampires are after me and it's keeping me up at night. Ya know, the usual," she said with a roll of her eyes.
"Everything will go back to normal soon. I can feel it," Leah said rubbing her back encouragingly.
"Yeah, we're on it Bells. You don't need to worry," Seth said with a wide grin.
She wished that she had his optimism. She found it hard to be optimistic about the situation that everyone was in. They guided her into the house and her eyes sought out Paul immediately. He was in front of her within seconds and Leah and Seth left them alone.
"As nice as this is, all I want to do is go up to my room and sleep for the next two days."
"If I could make that happen I would," he said as he wrapped his arms around her.
"I know you would," she said with a sigh.
"I didn't think you knew this many people."
"He called everyone in my phone."
"He wanted to make this nice for you."
"It's not that I don't appreciate, because I do. I would probably even enjoy it if I didn't feel like a zombie."
"You want to know something funny?"
"What?"
"Some girl from your school asked Jake out. Jared and I had to hold Leah back because the girl couldn't take a hint," he said with a light laugh.
"Which one?" she asked, scanning the room.
"She's standing a few feet from Edward."
"My Dad invited Edward?" She asked looking out across the living room.
"He invited all of the Cullen's."
The girl in question met eyes with Bella and Bella groaned in frustration.
"How in the hell did I get her number?" she growled.
"You don't like her?"
"I can't stand her," she said in frustration.
"What's her name?"
"Lauren. I'm surprised she came," she said with a sigh.
"What did she do that was so bad?"
"She gave me a hard time while I was dating Edward. She turned one of my friends against me just because she was jealous of me. Thank God Jessica saw her for what she was and came to her senses."
"I'll keep you away from her," he promised tightening his grip on her.
"I know you will," she said as she smiled up at him.
Jessica came up to them with Angela with a smile.
"Paul this is Jessica and Angela, the only two girls at my school worthy of my time besides Alice. This is my boyfriend, Paul."
"It's nice to meet you," Angela said with a polite smile.
"She's told us all about you," Jessica said with a smile of her own.
"That can't be good," he said as he laughed.
"I only told them the nice stuff."
"I can't believe that Lauren showed up," Angela said.
"Hopefully she won't stay long," Jessica said with a sigh.
Someone knocked on the door before Bella could reply. She pulled away from Paul to walk the short distance to the door and suppressed a sigh when she saw the person on the other side.
"Dad, the relator is here," she called into the kitchen.
She let the woman in and Charlie met them at the door.
"Your Dad's selling the house?" Jessica asked.
"Mm hmm," Bella said with a tight lipped smile.
"You don't like the idea?" Angela asked.
"He's doing it so that he can pay for my college tuition. I feel guilty."
Paul pulled her into the living room and she was surprised to see so many people from school. She saw people that weren't even in her grade that she wouldn't have thought to invite. Emmett stood in the corner with Rosalie and Jasper while Alice sat alone, which Bella knew wasn't normal. Alice was the most social person Bella had ever met.
Bella pulled away from Paul and made her way over to Alice. Alice didn't acknowledge her as she sat down next to her. Bella knew exactly what was going on. Alice was having a vision and the rest of the Cullen's were giving her breathing room so that no one would suspect something. Alice turned her head to look at Bella with worry lines etched across her forehead.
"What's going on?" Bella asked quietly.
"How soon can you get everyone to leave?"
"It depends on the lie I come up with."
"I think it's time that Charlie and Bella had some alone time everyone. Why don't we all relocate to my house?" Alice asked over the noise.
"I've never been to your house," Jessica said with wide eyes.
"Anyone who doesn't know where we live can follow one of us," Carlisle said.
"What is it?" Bella asked.
"I saw the newborns. There are at least two dozen of them. Have the boys and Leah come to my house. Come over as soon as you can," Alice pleaded.
"Okay," Bella said with a nod.
"Jacob, Leah, Seth? Would you like to ride with us?" Esme asked with a smile.
"Sure," Jacob said slowly.
"Stay with her. I'll fill you in later," Sam said to Paul.
Paul nodded as everyone filed out of the house. Charlie came back in once everyone was gone.
"Where did everyone go?"
"They had graduation parties of their own Dad."
"That's true. I see that Paul is still here," he said with a sigh.
"Is that okay?"
"It's fine. Pam thinks that the house will sell fast since it was recently redone. I hope she's right."
"Should I start packing?"
"That would be a good idea. I'll get us some boxes tomorrow on my way home from work and we'll start packing this weekend."
"I didn't think that you worked today or tomorrow."
"I was only able to take today off. I have to be in at six tomorrow morning."
"I'm going to go lay down."
"Me too, make sure to lock up once he leaves," he said gesturing to Paul.
"I will," she promised.
Charlie went upstairs and Bella and Paul cleaned the house. She locked the door before pulling him up to her room. She threw herself on the bed with a grunt. He lay next to her with a hand on her back.
"I don't know if I'll be able to sleep but I'm going to try like hell," she mumbled.
"Don't think about what happened earlier. I'll be right here," he said against her ear.
She was asleep within minutes while he stared up at the ceiling. There was no chance of him falling asleep. Not with the threat of the newborns coming at any moment.
XXXX
Bella woke up to the sound of someone sliding her window open in the middle of the night. She lay still, wondering who would be crawling through her window at one in the morning other than Paul who she had dropped off at home less than three hours before.
"I know you're awake. I can hear you breathing," Edward said to get her attention.
"They sent you? Seriously?" she asked with a sigh.
"It was either me or Jasper, everyone else is hunting."
"I would rather deal with Jasper," she said in exasperation.
"I want to apologize."
"Fine," she said as she rolled over to face him.
"Why isn't Paul here?"
"Because he needs to prepare for the battle just like you do. Sam called him because he needed him on the Reservation."
"Is someone on patrol? I didn't see or smell anyone."
"Leah and Jacob are supposed to be."
A faint shrill whistle sounded through the open window sounding almost like a bird call. That was Jacob's signal to let Bella know that he was there. Edward nodded as he sat down at her desk.
"I've come to notice that Paul isn't the person that I thought he was. He is perfectly capable of taking care of you."
"Pretty soon I won't need to be taken care of at all."
"That may be, but he is still doing a better job of it than I ever did," he said with a heavy sigh.
"When did you realize that?" she asked in intrigue.
"Today, he can be very hostile when backed into a corner. But he handled today very well," he complimented.
"I know how hostile he can be. I try to keep him as calm as possible."
"He doesn't usually let me in, but when he does he is very forthcoming."
"He's not the kind of person who holds back his opinion."
"Trust me, I know," he said in confirmation.
"When will the battle happen?"
"Sunday, how much sleep did you get today?"
"I got some. But I couldn't make my body shut down for longer than a couple of hours. I was worried about what was going to happen."
"You don't need to worry. Alice has seen everything, we are going to win," he said in reassurance.
"That's good to know," she said with a nod.
"Paul will probably tell you everything else so I am going to go. Try to get some more sleep," he said with a kind smile.
Bella watched him climb out the window and she lay back against the pillows as soon as he shut the window. She was tired, but she couldn't make her mind shut off. That was usually the case lately. She pushed everything to the back of her mind and tried to focus on falling asleep. She heard the window slide open again and she turned towards it with a sigh.
"It's just me," Leah said in the darkness.
She lay down on the floor next to the bed and Bella handed her a blanket which she declined. Bella's light, even breathing was soon the only sound in the room. Leah didn't like that Bella was so stressed out that she couldn't sleep unless someone was with her, she had been in that position before herself and hadn't had anyone to lean on. She would gladly sleep next to Bella if it helped her sleep at night.
XXXX
Paul had woken her up at dawn to tell her that he was leaving. She had spent half the night last night leaving a trail of her scent in the forest that bordered where the fight would take place. She had ripped one of her good shirts into strips to place strategically in tree limbs so that the newborns would be led away from her house. She had gotten back just before her dad woke up to go to work.
Jasper had shown up with some awful tasting tea for her to drink not long after Paul had left. He claimed that it would help her sleep. He had stayed with her until she had fallen asleep fifteen minutes later.
She woke to the sun shining in her eyes and the sounds of birds chirping right outside her window. If it were any other day she would have relished in watching the birds that had made a home in the tree. Instead she pulled herself out of bed to get dressed. She checked the hall clock before going downstairs. It was after two, she had slept half the day away.
Seth greeted her at the bottom of the stairs with a wide grin. She smiled back putting a hand on his shoulder before passing him to go into the kitchen. She grabbed a soda before going into the living room. Collin and Brady were enthralled in some war movie that she had never seen. Seth walked out the front door and she followed him when he called her name. He stood on the porch looking out over the yard.
"Is it over?" she asked.
"Sam said that he would call," Seth said with a shake of his head.
"So the three of you got pulled from the action?"
"I wouldn't say that. Collin and I chased the one who broke in here to where everyone else was first thing this morning."
"He was here?"
"He slipped up; we put him back in his place," he said proudly.
His phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket.
"It's Sam," he said before flipping it open.
Bella listened to his end of the conversation intently. Something had happened but Seth didn't let on to what it was. He shut the phone before going back inside. Bella followed him back into the living room.
"Time to go, Sam wants us to meet him at Jake's."
"What happened?" Bella asked.
"It wasn't Paul, don't worry. He's on his way here."
"Is it Jake?" she asked as Seth passed her to open the door again.
"Come over as soon as you can," he said before walking out the door.
Brady reluctantly pulled himself away from the TV and followed Seth and Collin out the front door. Bella walked back into the kitchen to clean up the mess the boys had made. Potato chip bags and soda cans littered the counter and the empty bread bag was still in the bread container. She couldn't be mad at them; she had done the same thing when she was twelve and thirteen. She was glad that the three of them were kept away from the battle. They were too young to be dealing with what they were going through.
The front door opened as she was wiping down the counter and Paul's arms wrapped around her from behind. She turned in his arms before wrapping her arms around his neck. She laid her head on his chest hearing his heartbeat in her ear.
"I'm just glad that you're okay," she mumbled.
"Jake isn't," he said quietly.
"So I gathered. What happened to him?"
"He was covering Leah's back and the guy nearly crushed him to death. Every bone in the upper right side of his body is broken."
"Is Leah okay?" she asked in concern.
"She's pissed at Jake for playing the hero and getting hurt but other than that she's fine."
"She'll get over it."
"I'm sure she will. Jake was asking for you."
"I'll go and see him later."
"I would hold off until tonight. Carlisle is having trouble keeping medicine in him; it's pretty bad right now," he warned her.
"Okay."
"Your Dad will probably be working late tonight."
"Why?"
"We had to light some fires to get rid of the bodies. You can see the smoke from the interstate," he explained.
"How bad is it?"
"It's not that bad. If he asks, Jake got into a motorcycle accident."
"That's the excuse Billy is using?"
"Yeah," he said, his lips forming a tight line.
"Everything is really over?"
"It's really over, unless you've pissed off someone else," he said with a quirked eyebrow.
"Very funny," she said rolling her eyes.
He gave her a teasing smile before leaning down to gently kiss her. She kept him close by threading her fingers through his hair.
"I love you," she whispered.
"You do?" he asked, his smile growing wider.
"Yeah," she said with a nod.
"I love you too," he said murmured before kissing her again.
She sighed against his lips as he tightened his grip on her. He added more pressure to the kiss making her open her mouth to let him in. He backed her against the counter as his tongue swept into her mouth. The front door opened and someone cleared their throat from behind them. Paul pulled away and Bella looked over his shoulder to see Edward.
"Hi," he said quietly.
"Hey."
"Carlisle wanted me to let you know that you can go over and see Jacob whenever you'd like. He's stable now."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," he said with a nod.
"I mean it. Thank you, for everything. Thank your family for me?"
"I will," he said with a smile before walking out the door.
He closed the door silently and Bella fell against Paul, burying her face in his neck.
"Do you want to go and see Jake?"
"It can wait. I want to spend some time with you for right now."
"I'm not going to say no to that," he said with a crooked smile.
She led him up the stairs and closed the door behind them. She had a feeling that her dad was going to be home soon to change into his fire gear. Maybe if they were quiet enough, he wouldn't come to the door. Something hit her window as he captured her hands and lifted them over her head. He hung his head to bury his face in the pillow beside her head before screaming into it.
"Go see who it is," she said with a sigh.
He crossed the room to the window and opened it to scowl down at the person on the ground.
"We're having a meeting," Jared called up to him.
"I'm busy. Can you fill me in later?" he asked gruffly.
"I was busy too if you know what I mean. That didn't stop Sam from coming over to my house. You can keep it in your pants for a few more hours."
"Go. I can go and see Jake," Bella said.
"I'll call you later," he promised walking back to her.
He stood in front of her brushing her hair over her shoulder before leaning in.
"We aren't done."
"Hopefully next time we won't get interrupted."
"If somebody does, I'm going to kill them," he said with a sigh.
"I'll talk to you later," she said before kissing him.
He pulled away a few seconds later with a groan when Jared whistled from outside.
"Come on!" he called.
Paul walked backwards to the window and Bella watched him until he climbed down the tree. She had honestly planned on sleeping with him. She hadn't planned on getting interrupted twice but she didn't take that as a bad sign. All of her bad days were behind her and she could focus on building a relationship with him.
XXXX
Billy answered the door the second time she knocked. He smiled at her warmly as she passed him. She leaned down to hug him and he held on, not letting her go.
"I am so glad that you weren't there. You're like one of my kids and Jake thinks of you as his sister. We Blacks look after our own, so you don't need to thank him."
"I know," she said when he finally let her go.
"I think he might be asleep finally. I haven't heard anything from him in a little while. You can go back if you want or you can wait until he wakes up."
"I'm awake," Jacob said from his room.
"You had better go on back there then," Billy said before pushing himself into the living room.
Bella stood at his door taking him in. He was battered and bruised and the upper right side of his body was in a cast. His head was wrapped in gauze. He couldn't even move his neck to look at her. She crossed the room to sit on the edge of his bed.
"When you get hurt you don't do it half way do you?"
"Who knows, you and I might be related after all," he said with a half-smile.
"Maybe," she said with a laugh.
"Leah's pissed."
"She won't be for long. She'll eventually see that you did it because you didn't want her to get hurt. You could have done things differently, but they can't be undone now."
"It hurts like hell. Every part of me hurts," he groaned.
"It looks like it," she said with a nod.
"Did you get to see Paul?"
"For a little while, Sam called for an emergency pack meeting so he had to go," she said with a frustrated sigh.
"What happened?"
"I told him that I loved him and he told me that he loved me too and then we got interrupted by Edward. I took him upstairs but before anything could happen Jared showed up."
"You were going to sleep with him?"
"Yeah, is it okay that we're talking about this?" she asked, nervous.
"It's fine Bells. I don't want to kill him if that's what you're asking."
"I was thinking about your feelings for me."
"That's in the past. Like my Dad said, you're practically my sister."
"Can I talk to him?" Leah asked from the door.
"Sure. I'll come by tomorrow," she said putting a hand on his good arm.
"Okay," he said quietly.
"Go easy on him; he's in a lot of pain," Bella said when she came to stand in front of Leah.
"He brought it on himself," Leah said under her breath.
"I know that, but he's still not himself. Wait until he's better to have it out with him."
"Good idea. I'll let him wait, that way my anger can build," Leah said with an acid smile.
"Or you'll be over it and realize that he didn't do it to hurt your feelings. He knows that you can take care of yourself."
"I can hear the two of you," Jacob said with a strangled sigh.
"Then she won't need to go over it with you," Bella said over her shoulder before she stepped out into the hall.
Leah shut the door quietly before coming to sit next to him. She took in his appearance with a shake of her head.
"What were you thinking?" she accused, her voice just above a whisper.
"I was trying to save you," he defended, his voice only slightly louder than hers.
"I didn't need you to. I could have handled it."
"You could have handled two at one time? Really?" he asked shooting daggers at her.
"I-"
"What? I would not have been able to live with myself if it was you and not me in this situation."
"I don't want to argue with you about it," she said with a sigh.
"Thank you," he said as he closed his eyes.
"But I do want to talk to you about having feelings for Bella. How long ago was that?"
"It happened before I imprinted on you."
"And after you imprinted on me?"
"I planned on telling you. I didn't want to put added stress on you."
"Did you have feelings for her after you imprinted on me Jacob?" she questioned firmly.
"For a little while, but what I feel for you is more important and ten times more intense than what I felt for her."
"How long after?" she questioned.
"A few weeks," he said with a sigh.
"When were you going to tell me?"
"After all the mess with the vampires was over."
"I can understand that I guess," she said with a sigh.
"Are you mad at me?"
"No. I just wish that you had told me sooner. I was pretty much put in Emily's position without realizing it. I'll have you know that I saw red when I heard Bella ask you if you still had feelings for her."
"Technically you weren't in Emily's position. Bella turned me down without thinking twice."
"Does Paul know?"
"Have you heard about him trying to kill me?"
"No."
"Then I'd say that he doesn't."
"Maybe she has told him and he hasn't let it bother him."
"I guess we'll never know," he said with a sigh.
She leaned over him brushing her fingers over his forehead. He sighed, wishing that he could touch her. She lightly pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth that wasn't busted open and bruised before pulling away.
"I love you," she said staring him in the eye.
"I love you too," he said with a crooked smile.
"Does it really feel different than it did with Bella?"
"It does. It feels right."
"You're right, it does," she agreed with a nod.
"Is it better the second time around?"
"It's even better than the first time. This time I know that the person I love won't abandon me. Not that Sam had a choice, but I can let my guard down easier with you than I could with him."
"I understand."
"I should go. My mom wants me and Seth to be home early tonight."
"I'll see you tomorrow."
She pressed her fingers to her lips before pressing them to his good cheek. She gave him a sad smile before standing. He watched her leave out of the corner of his eye before his dad came to stand at the door.
"I'm gonna go to bed. Leah and Seth are going to help me. I just wanted to see if you needed anything first."
"I don't need anything."
"Do you feel better now that you've talked to Leah and Bella?"
"Yes Sir."
"'See you in the morning."
"G'night."
Seth waved as he passed him to go back down the hall. Leah stopped at his door to say goodnight to him before continuing down the hall. He closed his eyes as the door shut behind them. Thoughts of what had happened that day swam through his head. Things could have ended a lot worse. He was just glad that Bella hadn't been there. The less she knew about the battle the better. It was bad enough that he would likely have nightmares about it for the rest of his life.
He was able to shut his mind off finally and soon he drifted off to sleep. He would live to see another day and the pain would be gone in a few days. It was worth the price to pay to see that Leah was safe.