Moonlight in Forks
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Getting the Party Started
Bella was sad that Jacob had to leave, but she knew it was important that he keep his pack up to date on the latest happenings. Like him, she didn't want those who were risking their lives to keep hers safe, to be blindsided in any way.
That was one thing that had been annoying her about the Cullens. They were so secretive. Instead of sharing what they knew with the wolves, they often kept it to themselves, putting others at unnecessary risk because of it. She was tired of the so-called rivalry between the two sides. Victoria and the newborns represented more of a danger than old petty rivalries. They may never trust each other fully, but in this case, it was time they tried.
The rest of the dinner at the Lodge dragged by interminably. If it wasn't for the fact that Charlie was having such a fun time socializing (such a rarity on its own), she would have asked to leave hours ago. Instead, she sat silently next to him, her mind plagued with worry, wondering if there was a way to stage an intervention between the wolves and the Cullens, so she could pitch the idea of them sharing intel and perhaps working alongside each other until Victoria was vanquished.
Bella kept one eye on the time. Charlie was eating slowly, too busy talking and laughing to hurry. Bella picked at her burger, stuffing pieces into her napkin when she was sure her father's attention was elsewhere. She had completely lost her appetite.
Bella was sitting with her back to the windows, and had the odd feeling of being watched. She tried to resist the urge to turn around and search for the eyes she could feel on her now. She knew she wouldn't be able to see anything. Just as she knew who the watching eyes belonged to.
Edward would never leave her alone for long.
Finally, Charlie paid for the meal and put a tip on the table. Bella quickly stood up.
"In a hurry?" He asked.
"Um…no." Bella lied.
"Okay." Charlie turned away from her to say goodnight to everyone. Bella slipped out while he was preoccupied to wait by the cruiser. She was desperate for some fresh air.
A slight breeze played with her hair as she stepped outside, turning the loose strands into buoyant waves. Bella closed her eyes in relief, letting the cool air caress her hot skin. She leaned against the passenger door of the cruiser, waiting for Charlie to drag himself away from the impromptu party. It was almost dark in the parking lot, the clouds so thick that there was no telling if the sun had set or not.
Something moved in the shadows.
Bella stiffened, on the alert at once. Suddenly Edward appeared out of the gloom and her heart sunk. So, her hunch had been right, he had been the one watching.
Without a word, he pulled Bella tightly against his chest. One cool hand found her chin, and pulled her face up so he could press his hard lips onto hers. At the last second, Bella turned her head aside, so his kiss landed on the curve of her cheek instead.
Bella heard him emit a startled gasp at her rejection. She had never turned away before. This was new to him, and he wasn't sure what to do. His hold on her was too strong for her to simply break away and step back. When she glanced up at him, she saw the tension in his jaw.
"Why are you here? I thought you were supposed to be catching up with Alice."
"I did." Edward frowned. "I wish that you had."
"What difference would that have made?" Bella pushed on his chest with her good hand, indicating that she wanted him to let go.
Edward reluctantly dropped his hands back to his side. "At least I know now. I can't believe I didn't see it."
"I am too." Bella said flippantly. She was in no mood to make excuses for him.
A slight frown marred Edward's forehead. He was finding it difficult to deal with her change in attitude toward him. "Are you upset with me, Bella?"
"I've got a lot on my mind." Bella replied tautly.
"Yes, of course." Edward murmured, his gaze softening. Before she had a chance to protest, he speedily leaned in and kissed her, not letting her speak as he let his lips linger. Then suddenly he pulled away. "Charlie's coming. I'll see you back at the house."
Then he was gone.
Charlie was pushing Billy's wheelchair in front of him. Billy was dozing, worn out after all the good food and drink. "We better get this one home." He said, looking down at his friend in amusement. "Do you want me to drop you back at the house first, or do you want to come with us?"
"I'll come with you." Bella said, relieved to have an excuse not to go back to the house where Edward would be waiting for her. She knew he would have overheard the change in plans, as she guessed he was still hovering nearby in the darkness.
"So, how do you feel?" Charlie asked as they drove along the highway toward La Push. "It's been a big day."
"I feel fine." Bella lied again.
Charlie smiled, seeing through her easily. "Bells, you don't need to put on an act for my sake you know. If you hated all of it, then be honest."
Bella was once again taken aback just how astute Charlie could be sometimes. Then again, she had always been a shitty liar. "I didn't hate all of it." She admitted. "I enjoyed the parts where you, Jake and Billy were cheering me on….and the meal of course." She tagged on at the end.
"Oh, honey, you hated the meal." Charlie laughed. "You were never one for socializing. You take after me in that respect I'm afraid."
"You seemed to be enjoying socializing tonight." Bella pointed out.
"Yeah, well, you were there. Billy was there. And Jake, for a while, before he had to rush off." Charlie reached out and gave her hand an affectionate squeeze.
"I'm glad you had a good time, Dad." Bella squeezed his hand back.
Charlie got teary eyed again. "Well, you look really nice. I wish I thought to get you something like Alice did with that outfit. Sorry."
"Don't be silly, Dad. I don't like gifts, you know that."
"Its not silly. And this was a special occasion. Graduation is a once in a lifetime thing."
Not if you're a vampire-Bella thought grudgingly.
"And I feel like I don't always do everything for you that I should." Charlie continued.
"That's ridiculous. You do a fantastic job. World's best dad." Bella felt a lump rising in her throat as she realized just how much she meant it. "And I'm so glad that I came to live with you, Dad. It was the best decision I ever made."
"Oh, god, Bells!" Charlie raised his eyebrows. "Just listen to us-getting all mawkish! We're the Swans, we're awkward beings, we don't get oversentimental. What is happening to us?" He joked.
"Post graduation mushiness." Bella declared with a smile. "We're allowed to indulge in schmalz once in a while."
"Too right, daughter mine." Charlie laughed again, patting her hand as he turned his attention back to the road.
From the rear of the cruiser came a contented snore of agreement from Billy.
To Bella's delight, she found Jacob outside his house waiting for her. She was the first one out of the cruiser as she ran clumsily over in his direction. Jacob ran to meet her, he scooped her up into his warm arms, hugging her tightly.
"If your dad wasn't watching I would be kissing you right now." He whispered close to her ear.
Bella let out a relieved breath as she melted into his form. His intense body heat soothed her frazzled nerves. She could feel his firm torso and the heart that beat within. His hands folded around her back, drawing her in closer. Her body was shaking at the intensity of their emotional reunion. It had felt like an eternity since she had been cradled in his warm, loving arms, when, in reality it had only been a few hours.
Jacob pressed his cheek on top of her hair, his nose wrinkling slightly. "Bells, you smell of leech."
Bella grimaced. "Oh, I ran into Edward at the Lodge when I was waiting in the parking lot for Charlie. I couldn't avoid him."
"Figures that he would be skulking around in the dark." Jacob muttered, his hold on Bella tightened, as if worried that Cullen might appear out of the shadows and steal her away.
After a minute, he pulled back a little, gently stroking Bella's face with his calloused fingers. He was eating her with his eyes, running his hand through her hair, as if he couldn't quite believe she was not part of an almost forgotten dream. And when he saw Charlie pushing Billy in his wheelchair into the house, he dared to kiss her.
The kiss was sweet, gentle, and it tasted of Bella's tears. She hadn't realized she had been crying. It had been an emotional day and she was glad to be back with him again. She wanted to speak but all she could do was whisper. "I'm so glad we're together again."
Jacob's mouth painted a soft smile and he nodded once before folding her in his arms again.
"An alliance?" Jacob said incredulously as he listened to Bella's idea. "I can't see Sam or any of the others going for that."
"It would only be for a short while." Bella pointed out, getting impatient. "Isn't it better to be working together instead of against each other?"
Jacob was silent for a moment as he mulled over her suggestion. It made sense. Of course, it did. But he still couldn't imagine how it would work in practice. Still if that was what Bella wanted, he would try and make it happen. He loved her- would do anything in his power to make her happy. And if it didn't work out, at least she couldn't say he hadn't tried.
"Okay, I'll pitch the idea to Sam and see what he says." He said eventually.
"Thank you, Jake." Bella broke out into a relieved smile, pleased that he was taking her suggestion seriously. "Now I just have to tell the Cullens. Alice is throwing that stupid graduation party tonight-I still think Edward thinks I'm going to go-even though I refused. I will speak to them tomorrow."
"Party?" Jacob perked up. "Really…interesting."
"Why is that interesting?" Bella questioned in confusion. "It's completely dumb if you ask me. All the kids from school are going to be there. It was supposed to be in my honor." She rolled her eyes. "I think Alice just wants to show off that's all."
"I think you should attend that party tonight, Bella." Jacob said, taking her completely by surprise.
"Why would I do that?" Bella demanded.
"You wanted to talk to the Cullens. Tonight, with a houseful of guests, would be the ideal opportunity."
"I don't want to go."
"Oh, you wouldn't be going alone." Jacob knew the reason behind her reluctance. "You'll have back up of course."
"I will?"
"Yes-because me, Embry and Quil are going to come as your guests." Jacob revealed with smug smile. "Wait here. I'll go and call the guys."
Bella was still concerned it wasn't such a good idea, but Jacob had been so accommodating about hers, that she decided to go along with what he wanted. It was only fair.
"You have to keep your cool around Edward." She warned him. "Can you do that? No matter what he does? And Quil and Embry need to keep their thoughts on lock down. Can they do that?"
"Don't worry, Bells. They can handle it. Its not the first time we've been in hostile territory." Jacob did his best to reassure her.
"I know. It's just that I haven't told him about us yet. Although, I can't believe he doesn't realize something is going on. I want to be the one to tell him. I don't want him to find out from something he sees in Quil or Embry's head."
Bella was adamant about that. If this alliance thing was going to work, then she needed Edward to be onboard. If he found out about her and Jacob right now, she worried that it would skewer the whole possibility of it working.
"We just need to be patient for a little longer. Once we convince the others it's a good idea-well then-anything he says is less likely to scupper it."
"Noted." Jacob thought she was overthinking the whole thing. He wasn't worried at all.
Bella took a deep breath. "Okay, lets do this!"
"Bella?"
Edward's soft voice came from behind her. She had decided to go into the house alone first, Jacob and the others would follow a little while later. Just so it looked like they hadn't come together.
Bella watched as Edward ran lightly up the porch steps, his hair windblown from running. He pulled her into his arms at once, just like he had in the parking lot. For the second time that day, Bella turned her head to one side as he attempted to kiss her.
"Bella, what's wrong?" The hurt in Edward's voice was clear as she avoided his affection.
"Look, lets get this stupid party over with." Bella mumbled, not meeting his eyes. "I only came because I felt I had to after Alice had gone to so much trouble."
Edward put his hands on either side of her face, waiting until she looked up. "Thank you for that. I know what an ordeal this is for you, my love."
Bella sighed, not knowing what to say to that.
Edward studied her face for another few minutes, trying to read by her expressions alone what she was feeling and thinking. In the end he was no clearer. Giving up, he painted on a bright smile. "Ready to celebrate? Alice said you would come around."
Bella groaned. "I bet she did." She muttered darkly.
Edward held the door for her, keeping his arm securely about her waist. Bella stood frozen for a second, then slowly shook her head.
"Unbelievable."
Edward shrugged. "Alice will be Alice."
The interior of the Cullens home had been transformed into a nightclub-the kind that didn't often exist in real life, only on TV.
"Edward! Bella!" Alice called joyfully from beside a gigantic speaker. "What do you think, Bella?" She crowed. "Want to help me pick some music?" She gestured toward a towering stack of CD's. "I have catered to everyone's choice imaginable."
Bella shook her head. This was turning out worse than she thought. She began to count down the minutes in her head to Jacob's arrival. She noticed that Alice had changed into a sequined tank top and leather pants. Her bare skin reacted oddly to the pulsing red and purple lights.
"I've laid out a similar outfit for you in Edward's room." Alice trilled. "I thought we could be twins tonight, Bella. Isn't it exciting! Finally, you get to show some skin!"
Bella scowled. "I think I'll stick to what I'm wearing, thanks. Even if you think I'm underdressed."
"You're perfect." Edward disagreed.
Bella gave him a sour look, but refrained from saying anything. Everything was over the top and audacious. She couldn't imagine what Jacob and the boys would think of it. As soon as she thought about them, she saw Edward's face pull down into a sulky frown.
"What is it?" She asked, none too innocently.
"Jacob Black is here….and not alone, either." Edward snapped.
"The werewolf is here?" Alice caught Bella's eyes, gazing at her with a troubled expression. "Who invited him?"
"I did, actually." Bella replied serenely, just as the doorbell rang.
Edward's face was empty as stone. He turned abruptly and disappeared into the shadows under the stairs in order to compose himself.
Bella tried to hide her smile. She hurried to answer the door as the doorbell peeled again, too long, as if someone was holding the down the button. Bella quickly thrusted the door open.
"Finally!" Quil grumbled. He was the one holding the bell. Embry was standing stiffly by his side, overwhelmed by all the leech stink. "God, the stench in here is terrible."
"I hope you don't mean me, Quil." Bella asked.
"Never!" Quil grinned. "Howya doin?"
"Good. You?"
"Never better." Quil strolled into the house, followed by a reluctant Embry.
"Hi, Bella." Embry said. "You look nice."
"Thanks." Bella waved him inside. Her gaze was already locked onto Jacob. He was dressed in the same form fitting black t-shirt, that clung to every muscular curve on his torso, and dark jeans that his friends were wearing. He looked incredible.
"Hi, honey." Jacob's deep sounded loud in the tense silence coming from inside. "I suppose we better get this party started."
A/N-thanks for reading!