After a good while on the phone, Bella had managed to convince Edward to meet them at the border of the reservation. Bella seemed to think she had come up with a fail-safe idea to get Jacob on Edward's good side, but Jacob knew better. Edward definitely didn't even want to see Jacob, but Jacob didn't have the strength to stay away any longer.

And maybe getting out into the fresh air and spending some time together could even be a good thing. Jacob didn't necessarily believe that, but he tried to stay positive. The spot Bella had picked was indeed beautiful, romantic even, so maybe seeing it together with Bella would get Edward in a better mood. Or maybe it would be worse since Jacob was there too? Going there did seem like an altogether bad idea, but Bella had made up her mind.

"That's not safe," Edward said the moment he saw Jacob and Bella approaching the border, "we're not going into Quileute territory."

Edward very obviously avoided looking in Jacob's direction, causing Bella to scowl at him.

"Come on, Edward," Bella smiled, "Nobody's ever going to find out, it's so close to the border that your smell won't cause any suspicion, and none of the wolves even go there anyways."

Jacob hadn't been very into the idea at first, but Bella pleaded her case well. Moreover, he really wanted Edward to experience a place he hadn't been before. Despite the challenge being largely in Jacob's head, he felt like Edward didn't truly think he could show him something he hadn't experienced before. And since it was true that nobody ever went to Tlopa Kwaiya springs, was it really that bad?

"I'm not breaking the treaty to go swimming," Edward rolled his eyes, and Bella frowned.

"But what about breaking it for me?" Bella took a step closer to Edward and put a gentle hand on his hip. It was strange to see Bella so openly scheming, but Bella's adventurous spirit had really grown over the past few months, and Jacob felt proud of her in a way. She wasn't as easily influenced anymore.

Edward finally shot Jacob a glance, and even though it was clearly in displeasure over his thoughts, Jacob felt his heart skip a beat.

I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you, Jacob thought, and Edward winced. It might have sounded a little more coy than intended, but he meant it. Nothing would ever happen to Edward as long as Jacob was near. He wouldn't let it.

Edward sighed, and pulled Bella in close, "If I have to," he finally said, "But I won't stay long."

"Great, I know you'll love it!" Bella exclaimed, as they all started walking into the woods.

The walk was rather long, but they upheld a brisk speed until they could hear the bubbling activity of the waterfall in the distance. Bella had been leading the way, and none of them had said more than a few words the whole time. The entire scenario already felt rather awkward to Jacob, but he didn't want to say anything to make it worse.

Only the last little hill was within Quileute territory, and Edward seemed visibly uncomfortable as they crossed the threshold. Most of the trek had been on the "safe" side of the border, and they didn't really need to stay there that long, so it would probably be fine.

"Probably," Edward snarled, as he walked in front of Jacob on the track. Jacob was a little taken aback by his comment, but Edward was clearly uneasy and annoyed.

Edward was also definitely still angry about what had happened, and Jacob didn't really blame him but he also didn't know the exact reason why. Was it because he'd been repulsed by the thought of actually doing something with Jacob? But Edward had kind of been the one who had started teasing Jacob in that situation… Was he considering Bella? The whole thing was unfair to her… but after their conversation earlier, would she even be that sad?

Edward slowed down a little, and turned to glare at Jacob. Fuck, he shouldn't think about that. That was Bella's business. Edward's pace suddenly slowed down even more, and he let Bella get ahead quite a bit. Jacob felt his insides run cold.

"What have you been telling Bella?" Edward hissed under his breath.

"I… umm… nothing," Jacob stumbled over his words. The harder he tried to not think about his conversation with Bella earlier, the more memories infiltrated his conscience; 'I don't want to be obliged to love him. He's so unhappy. Do I even really love him?' Shit. Shit. Shit.

Edward's brows furrowed, but he didn't say anything. This was really not something Jacob should share. Was Edward okay? He hadn't wanted to share anything that could hurt Edward. Of course not.

"So you didn't tell her anything?" Edward asked. Was he ignoring Jacob's previous thoughts? Maybe he didn't hear…? But of course Jacob didn't tell Bella anything Edward wouldn't want her to know. It's not like they even did anything either, there was nothing to tell.

Edward huffed, "You're right, there's nothing."

But hadn't Edward wanted to–?

Edward came to a complete halt, and Jacob stumbled over his own feet to not slam into Edward's body in front of him. Bella continued walking, seemingly fixated on the rapidly nearing waterfall.

"Wanted to do what?" Edward snarled, "I was simply considering obliging to the terms of our bet..." Edward didn't really look at Jacob, but stared blankly into the woods next to him.

But Jacob was sure Edward had… he was turned on…

"A rather normal physiological reaction to such crude images," Edward hesitated, "Don't flatter yourself."

Jacob flinched, maybe he really had imagined the whole thing. Or at least given it more meaning in his head than it actually had in reality. But he was sure he saw something in Edward's eyes–

"Will you never stop?" Edward snapped, "What do you need me to say? That I never want to see you again? That I hate you?!" The corners of Edward's eyes had a light red tinge to them. "Just leave me alone, okay. I'll talk to Bella, she doesn't need to see you this often either!"

Jacob felt his insides twisting, he was suddenly incredibly nauseous. All he wanted to do was make Edward happy, but he just made him miserable. His presence in Edward's life objectively infringed on his well-being. Nothing he'd done ever made Edward happy. Was he really that insufferable?

"Quite," Edward hissed, before looking ahead to where Bella was approaching the waterfall. "Let's just get this horrendous trip over with, and put a stop to this whole thing."

Jacob could feel heat rise up in his cheeks, and his eyes were burning. He didn't really cry much, but it was hard to hold back. Edward didn't want to see him. He never wanted to see him again… what would he do? Desperation was building up inside of his chest, and he wanted to plead. Beg. Please, don't leave!

Edward growled, "I should never have indulged this in the first place," he said, before leaving Jacob behind to catch up to Bella.