Bella's POV

I was walking on the beach towards the water. I was meeting Leah and Seth to hang out. It was actually a nice day out, despite the fact it was March. It wasn't nice enough to go in the water, but it was nice enough that we wouldn't freeze if we sat by the water. I'd even packed a picnic lunch for the three of us.

I'd gotten about halfway down the beach when I heard a loud, angry voice. "Hey! What the hell are you doing here?"

I turned to my right to see Jacob and his new group of friends coming my way. I deduced that the question came from the boy next to Sam. I wasn't sure what his name was.

I stiffened as the group came closer and willed myself not to lose it or beg Jacob to be friends again. I had to do what Leah and Seth said. I had to act like Jake didn't matter. I couldn't let him think he beat me.

"I asked you a question, Leech lover," the boy said angrily as they got closer. "Can't you take a hint?"

I blinked in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"What? You think if you stalk him, Jake will take your ass back?" he asked.

"Paul," Jacob said in a seething tone. I could tell he was angry, though I didn't know why. What did Jake care how Paul spoke to me?

"I am not stalking Jake," I said.

"Yeah, right. You just came on our land for the hell of it, right? You're so pathetic," Paul said with a mocking tone.

"Shut the hell up, Paul," Jake said angrily before turning to me. "Bella, why are you here? I told you we couldn't be friends anymore."

I barely stopped myself from flinching from the reminder and from the indifferent tone he used. "I came because I like the beach. It has nothing to do with you."

"Bella, if that's true, perhaps you should find a better place to hang out. I don't think you should come back to La Push anymore," Sam spoke in a firm voice. I could tell that it wasn't a suggestion but an order.

"I guess it's a good thing nobody gives a rat's ass what you think," the cold, familiar voice of Leah said.

The guys all turned around to see Leah and Seth coming towards us all. I couldn't be happier to see them. I was trying to stay strong, but I felt cornered by the group and more than a little hurt by Jake's coldness.

"Last time I checked, you didn't own this reservation, Sam. What gives you the right to ban people?" Leah asked coldly as she and Seth made it over to me.

"Leah, this has nothing to do with you. Stay out of it," Sam said calmly, but with authority.

"Hey! Don't you talk to my sister that way, or Bella for that matter. You have no right to order any of us around. You may be boss to these little robots here, but you're nothing to us. To me, you're nothing but the piece of crap that screwed my sister over," Seth said angrily.

"Seth, you have every right to hate my guts, but the two of you are involving yourselves in something that has nothing to do with you," Sam said.

"Nothing to do with me? I'm the one who found Bella after your disciple left her alone on this beach in the rain," Seth said before fixing his glare on Jacob. "You really are a sick piece of crap, you know that, Asshole? You knew what she'd been through and you left her alone in the rain?"

Jake looked ashamed for about a second, but it went away so quick that I wondered if I imagined it.

"For the record, you jackasses can't kick Bella off of La Push. We're just as Quileute as you and we can have her here anytime we want," Seth said.

Jacob suddenly looked between me and the Clearwaters in surprise. "Wait, you came to see them?"

Leah laughed. "You didn't think she came for your ass, do you? Why would she give a damn about you? You're just a little lapdog who can't so much as breath without the okay of his master. You left her in the woods like trash when in reality, you're the trash. You're the one that's not good enough for her. You're scum, just like that asshole, Cullen."

I noticed Jacob begin to shake, causing Sam to put a hand on his arm. "Calm down, Jacob."

Jacob took a few breaths and finally stopped shaking. Then he turned to me. "You're friends with them."

"They've been there for me. Seth brought me home after you left me here," I said. Again, I had to suppress the pain of remembering what happened the day Seth came after me and took me home.

"I didn't think that you'd just sit here for hours. And what about Leah? She's not exactly the ideal friend for you," Jake said.

The hurt quickly turned to anger as I recognized the insult to my friend. "Why's that? She's helped me see you for what you are. I've leaned on her a lot. It turns out she knows what it's like to be tossed aside like garbage." I glowered at Sam when I said the last part.

"Shut up! Mind your own damn business, Swan," Paul growled.

"I could say the same to you. No one was talking to you," I shot back.

Paul hissed and took a step toward me, causing Seth to get between us and get right in his face. "You touch her, Lahote and I will kick your ass."

"Let's see you try, Clearwater," Paul replied menacingly.

"Enough! Paul, back off," Sam ordered as he began to pull him away.

"Yes, be a good little boy and do what Daddy says," Seth mocked.

Paul went to attack Seth, but Embry and another guy I didn't recognize pulled him back.

"Get him out of here," Sam ordered. He waited for them to disappear into the trees before addressing us again. "Seth, you shouldn't have done that. Paul could've hurt you."

"You and your little puppet can kiss my ass. If he doesn't like what he hears, he should learn to keep his mouth shut. As Bella said, no was talking to him in the first place. And we're all done talking to you. Get lost and let us enjoy the rest of our day. You're ruined it enough as it is," Seth said.

Jacob looked at me. "Bella, you shouldn't be hanging around with them. Leah isn't the type of person you should hang around."

Again, I became angry. I couldn't believe he had the audacity to talk to me about who I should and shouldn't hang out with. He didn't even have that right when we were friends, let alone now. "Who the hell are you to decide who I become friends with? You're not my father, Jacob. You were my friend, but you chose not to be. You left me, just like Edward did."

"Don't compare me to him!" Jake yelled.

"Why not? You left me, just like he did and you're trying to tell me what I can and cannot do, just like he did," I said angrily. It hit me after a minute that I was actually finally putting at least some of the blame on Edward. Before now, I'd said it wasn't his fault, that it was mine for not being good enough. Now I was actually expressing some anger towards him, and it felt right. It actually made me feel better to place blame on him and Jacob for what they did.

"What do you expect? Assholes think alike," Leah said.

"You ended our friendship, Jacob. You don't get to have an opinion one who I get to be friends with now, not that you ever did. You do not decide who I hang out with. Leah has been great to me. She's helped me to see that it is not my fault that both you and Edward are jerks," I said. Well, Leah was starting to help me see that anyway. I wasn't a hundred percent there yet, but I realized during this conversation that I was starting to get there.

"Okay, enough, Jacob. Let's just go," Sam said as he began to pull on his arm.

Jacob looked at me once more before relenting and leaving with Sam.

"Nice job, Bella," Leah said approvingly after Sam and Jacob left.

"That felt really good. I didn't let myself get angry at him or Edward before, but when he was standing there trying to choose my friends for me after deciding that I wasn't worthy of his friendship, all I could feel was anger," I said.

"You did great. You didn't let him make you a victim and you didn't succumb to him. You just proved to him that you don't need him," Leah said.

"I can't say that I don't still miss him though," I said. I was angry, but I was also still hurt and still longed for Jake's friendship.

"I know. That won't go away very easily. As long as you don't show it to him, you'll be okay. Come on, let's forget about Black and his asshole friends and do what we came to do. Let's pick a spot to sit down," Leah said. With that, we all started walking down the beach.