Hello, again! This is something that came to my mind yesterday as I was uploading the last chapter!

I hope you like it, and I'll see you soon on Full Moon :)

Enjoy!

PACK SOULS

Chapter 15: Through the window.

Billy wouldn't let her see Jake. He had told her that Jake was sick. But she didn't buy that. He wasn't sick. He was avoiding her. And she wanted to know why.

She might have done something to offend him, and if that was the case, she wanted him to tell her to her face instead of acting like a five-year-old. She suspected it wasn't that. He was too easygoing to let anything bother him so much that he would avoid someone. And he'd gone to extremes to avoid her.

But she wasn't giving up. She was stubborn, and she was sick of people leaving her. If they wanted an easy way out, they would have to come clean. She knew she was being irrational by comparing what Edward did to her with what Jacob was doing, but she couldn't help it. His behavior stung.

Charlie was mad at Billy, and the fact that Billy was letting whatever happened between Bella and his son affect his friendship with Charlie, told her all she needed to know.

There was something else going on. Something neither Charlie nor Bella could know. It involved Jacob, and it involved Billy too. Bella thought about it, but she couldn't recall anything Jacob had shared that would give her any clues.

She bit her lip, trying hard to remember. But it was like there was a wall in her head. It was annoying. She couldn't get around it and couldn't get over it either. She was blocked from her own mind. So she tried to use another route.

His behavior was erratic and suspicious. He had been happy to help her with the bikes; he was happy to hang out with her, he joked; they shared warm cans of soda in his garage while she watched his happy smile turn into a satisfactory grin when he would put one more piece together for his rabbit.

She missed Jake. She missed his sunny disposition, his company, his jokes. She missed her best friend. She shook her head. She missed her Jake. Not her best friend Jake, but her Jake. The one she was falling in love with—the one who had made her laugh when her insides were bleeding. No one had ever done that. Not even Edward.

Bella felt a lightbulb turning on in her mind. Of course! When Edward avoided her at school after Tyler's van nearly crushed her, it was to avoid telling her his secret. It didn't work, though, because she eventually found out. Jake had helped with that.

What was it that Jake told her at the beach? A story about the Cold Ones. But there was something else. She gasped, suddenly remembering bits and pieces of the conversation. He didn't believe in horror stories because they were only legends for him.

"Oh my god!" She whispered triumphantly in her room. "He's a damn werewolf!"

She couldn't help the slight hysterical laugh that followed that epiphany. Trust her to become entangled in some other mythical creature's world.

But if she was right, she still needed to understand if this was why Jake was avoiding her. If it was, and he could confirm what she had discovered, perhaps she could have him back. Perhaps, she could be part of his life again.

A plan formed in her mind. Billy would not let Bella come through the front door, but she knew their house like the palm of her hand. She knew that the front door was out of the question. She would have to come through the window and wait for him in his room. Of course, she would have to wait for Billy to leave the house. No need for her to trip over something and fuck all her plans with her clumsiness.

…

…

…

The following day, Bella parked her truck far away from the tiny red house and out of sight. She felt like an FBI agent watching a suspect, waiting to apprehend them red-handed. She didn't have to wait long. Harry Clearwater picked up Billy from the house. She waited five minutes to make sure they weren't coming back for something, to make her move.

She ran steadily to the side of the house, giving a silent thank you to the sky as she noticed the window open. She climbed in gracefully and smirked in triumph. Now, she would have to wait however long it took Jake to come home.

It has been a few weeks since she's been in this room. She was glad that it still screamed Jake. A few shirts were on the floor, and the bed was untidy. What surprised her the most was seeing a picture on his nightstand. She grabbed it, and the feeling it left her was horrifying and, at the same time, electrifying.

Jake was smiling brightly while she blushed next to him. What electrified her was that she was giving the camera a genuine smile. She was too thin and pale in that picture, and she hated it. She liked to think she was healthier now. This picture confirmed that she was doing the right thing. She needed to speak to Jacob.

It turns out that playing detective was boring, especially since she had to stay put in his room. She had practiced hiding in his closet in seconds, just in case Billy came before Jake. She had picked up and folded the three shirts that were lying on the floor. She had straightened the bed, lied in it, and stared at the roof.

She had looked through Jacob's furniture, grabbing the book he had there without bothering to look at the title. She couldn't concentrate enough even to turn the page, so she left it where it had been.

She had laid on the floor, stared at the picture she'd put back on his nightstand, and waited and waited. She had told Charlie she needed to run some errands, and she didn't know how long it would take her. But damn, whatever was keeping Jake away, was taking way longer than she expected.

When she was about to quit and climb out the window, she saw him in the distance. He frowned, seeing her as well. He sped up his pace and jumped gracefully into his room.

His face looked wrong. He had cut his hair; he had a tattoo on his arm; he wore cutoffs and was bare-chested. He looked like her Jake but with a scowl and short hair. And more muscular. Ok, so he didn't look much like her Jake, but he was there, for sure.

"What are you doing here?" He tried to soften his tone, but it was hard.

"I came to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk, Bella. Leave me alone."

She shook her head. "I like our picture." She pointed to the frame, and he froze. She had disarmed him completely.

"What do you want?" He turned around. He was leaning against the frame of his bedroom door. She didn't like the distance but respected the fact that he had put it. She stayed put.

"You're avoiding me. I don't like that." She eyed him wearily.

She wondered why he couldn't tell her. Was it a secret like the Cullens had kept their existence a secret?

Jacob sighed. "I can't tell you anything different than what I've already told you."

"I know." Jacob frowned. She was too calm.

She palmed the bed as she sat in it, a gesture that meant she wanted him to sit next to her.

"How did you manage to make dad let you in the house?" He asked while he sat next to her. He missed her.

Bella smiled mischievously. "He doesn't know I'm here. I climbed through your window. I waited for him to leave and then waited forever for you to come."

Jake barked out a surprised laugh. She was sneaky and smart.

"I have a theory." She started. He nodded. "If I ask you questions, would you be able to say yes or no?"

He thought about it. In theory, he wouldn't be telling her anything. He wouldn't be breaking Sam's order. Bella had come to him, not the other way. "I think so."

Bella nodded. "You are avoiding me because you have a secret."

Jacob nodded. This encouraged Bella.

"This is a secret you can't share with me, or your dad can't share with Charlie? Not even Quil can know."

"Yes."

"Ok. It's a secret that you already told me about."

"What?" This caught him unguarded. "I haven't told you anything. I wouldn't be in this situation if I had told you."

"Oh, but you did. A few months ago, I asked you about what Sam had said when I visited with friends from school. He'd said, 'The Cullens don't come here' or something ominous like that. I asked you about it. You asked if I liked horror stories, and then you shared the legends of the tribe."

Jacob's eyes widened. Damn, she was brilliant. "I didn't believe in the legends then." He felt a flicker of hope rise in him. If she already knew, he didn't have to avoid her any longer. He could tell her how he felt for her, how his feelings for her had intensified after the phasing.

"But you do now." She prompted.

"Yes. I do believe in them now."

"Because something changed." She smiled widely.

"You're enjoying this slow burn a lot, aren't you?" He teased her.

"Hey, I waited here for four hours. Let me enjoy my moment."

He laughed at her, like old times. He hugged her shoulder with one arm, bringing her to him. She didn't mind that he was bare-chested still. "You cleaned my room." He accused mockingly.

"I got bored."

Jake snorted.

"You're distracting me!" She accused, with no heat in her voice, as she sat up straight. "Something changed. Something that involves you cutting your hair and getting a tattoo. Something that makes you believe in the legends now."

"Cut to the chase, Bella."

"You're no fun." She stuck her tongue out at him, and he rolled his eyes. "You're a wolf."

He looked at her in surprise. He really didn't think she had guessed it. "Damn, you're smart."

"Don't sound so surprised. It's insulting." She smiled at him. "So, am I right?"

"Yes, you're right."

"And this secret of yours involves Sam. But you can't tell Quil because he's not a wolf yet."

"Yes. Good job, Sherlock."

It was her turn to roll her eyes. "That's all I got. I have a lot of questions, though."

He didn't care that she had a million questions. He closed the space between them and captured her lips with his. She seemed surprised at first, and he was getting ready for rejection, but it didn't come. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back with fervor.

"God, I've missed you!" She whispered once they broke off the kiss.

"I've missed you too, honey."

"I love you, Jake."

He smiled sadly. "I know." She loved him like a best friend.

She shook her head. "I mean, I love you as in I'm in love with you."

He tensed a little. "Really? You're not saying that just because I didn't talk to you for a few weeks, right?"

"I'll ignore that last question and answer the first one. Yes, really. I love you."