A/N: Sending each of you my gratitude for taking the time to read this story. Take care, M. x
When the Cullens first left Washington after Bella's birthday, Alice and Jasper hadn't planned on three months passing before they saw Bella again, but when they'd all arrived in Ithaca, the family was still in a state of upheaval. Aside from all the chaos that comes when a family of seven has to make a sudden and unexpected move basically overnight, most of the family hadn't wanted to leave Bella in the first place. And then Edward, who was the whole reason for their hasty departure, left the Cullens almost immediately upon their arrival in New York.
Not wanting to make the situation worse - especially for Esme, who felt like her family was falling apart - the two had stayed with the Cullens until life started to feel a little more settled.
After Alice and Jasper made that first trip back to Forks when they dealt with Victoria, however, they knew they couldn't stay away that long again. Not only had Alice missed her best friend, but it was difficult for Jasper to be separated from his mate for that length of time.
So between that visit and when Alice and Bella made their mad-dash trip to Volterra, the two vampires came to see their favorite human every few weeks.
One of the things they couldn't help but notice was how much their friend was changing and growing in their time apart.
When Bella Swan moved back to Forks, she was a fairly naive seventeen-year old girl. But heartbreak, especially first heartbreak, tends to mature a person in a way. Bella had to let go of some of that romantic idealism, had to take her head out of the clouds and find her feet in the real world. And with Edward and the rest of the Cullens leaving Forks, her 'world' had to expand some.
She spent more time with her human friends, she rekindled the friendships she had with her friends on the Reservation, and she and her dad grew closer than they'd ever been. She even willingly watched sports with the man sometimes just to spend time with him.
She was also more open to trying new things. And it was that openness that led Bella to find another thing she had in common with Jasper.
"Motorcycles?"
Bella smiled at the expression on Jacob's face. "Well spotted, Jake. Yes, motorcycles. Didn't you tell me once that you wished you knew how to ride?"
"Yeah, but I meant it as a 'dream for the future' kind of thing, not in a 'let's go dumpster diving' way."
"Is it even considered dumpster diving if it's on someone's curb, rather than in an actual dumpster?" she mused.
"Not the point, Bells," Jacob laughed. Just then his phone chimed with a text.
Head to our old house, you'll find everything you need in the garage.
Damn, Jacob would never get used to the fact that he was friends with a psychic. Or a vampire, for that matter. Regardless, he had been surprised by how much he like the cheerful little vamp. She just wandered around like a little sun, warming the people around her simply because she cared about them. Honestly, you couldn't not like Alice. She would do just about anything for those she loved. And to Jacob's everlasting astonishment, he was included in Alice's list of loved ones.
Crazy, but true. The two had kept in touch after working together to end Victoria, and he'd hung out with her and Jasper on their most recent visit to Forks.
The four of them had been watching a movie at the Swan's house when Charlie Swan came home from work. Because Bella had let him know they'd all be there that evening, the man had stopped to pick up pizza for everyone. He and Bella could hardly hide their amusement when Alice and Jasper both took a piece.
"Just one? You're welcome to more," Charlie had offered kindly.
"Thank you, sir, but one piece will be plenty. Alice and I grabbed a bite before we came over," Jasper assured him, making Jacob choke on a laugh.
Unfortunately, he'd just taken a sip of his soda, so he'd choked on that too. Alice hit him a little harder than necessary right between his shoulder blades a few times, a too-innocent smile on her face.
Charlie had seemed a bit surprised that the tiny Alice could hit Jacob hard enough that he lurched forward, but hadn't mentioned it, and Jasper had distracted him by asking about his day.
So yes, Jacob found himself liking both of the vampires that his best friend was so fond of. They'd eaten pizza. One of Jacob's solid favorites, sure, but about as far from their diet as it was possible to get. They didn't make excuses to get out of eating, or make faces as they chewed and swallowed, they simply ate because Charlie Swan had been thoughtful enough to bring dinner home for them.
After reading Alice's text, Jacob didn't even bother unloading the two motorcycles from the bed of Bella's truck. He just gave her a gentle nudge in the direction of the driver's door, then hopped in the passenger side.
"Uh, where are we going?" Bella asked as she started the engine and backed out of the Black's driveway.
"To the vampire lair."
She shot him a questioning look. "The Cullen's? Aren't you guys supposed to stay off their land?"
"Eh, we're already breaking all the rules," he answered with a shrug. When she slowed down a little, he'd rolled his eyes with a smile. "Tink said to go to their garage."
"Ah, the text," Bella nodded. "Got it."
When they'd pulled up in front of the Cullen's garage, he got another text.
1987
"Jake, I don't know the—"
"Try 1987."
Bella shot him an incredulous look but entered the code into the keypad. When the garage doors rolled up she let out a surprised laugh.
Jacob let out his own surprised laugh when they walked into a garage as well-equipped as any professional mechanic's and found all the parts they would need to fix up the two bikes, along with a book sitting propped up on the counter that ran along the entire back of the garage.
It was Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Bella and Jacob had been working on the bikes in their free time for a few weeks when they were surprised one Saturday afternoon by someone driving up the Cullen's drive.
Bella looked at Jacob in a panic. "Oh shit! What if—"
"Bella!"
Bella turned to the open garage door just in time to find herself with an armful of a certain fae-like vampire.
"Ali? What are you doing here?" she asked with a smile as she hugged her best friend tightly.
"Surprise," a deep voice drawled from outside the garage.
Bella's head snapped up to see Jasper leaning against his truck in the driveway. "Jasper!"
Jasper went to hug his mate, amused when he saw Alice nearly take Jacob to the ground when she surprised him with a hug of his own.
"Jesus, Tink, a little warning next time?" he laughed as he recovered his footing.
"Nope, that wouldn't be as fun for me," Alice chirped with her sunny little smile.
Jacob just smiled and ruffled her hair affectionately before walking over to shake Jasper's hand.
The four chatted easily while Bella and Jacob cleared up the day's mess and washed up in the utility sink that was tucked in a corner of the garage. As they walked towards the two trucks in the driveway, Jacob saw there was something under a tarp in the bed of Jasper's truck. Jasper, feeling the wolf's curiosity, strode over and flipped off the cover with a smile.
"Holy shit, is that…" Jacob trailed off, certain he was probably drooling.
Jasper couldn't help but laugh at his newest friend. "A Ducati? It is," he nodded. "You know how to ride?"
"In theory, sure. In practice? No, not yet."
"Wanna learn?"
"On that?" Jacob asked. When Jasper answered with a nod, Jacob practically shouted "Yes!"
With just the slightest trace of a smirk, Jasper hopped into the bed of the truck to unload the bike.
As the two huddled around the Ducati, pointing to this and that - Jasper speaking, Jacob nodding - Bella looked on with a soft smile as two of her favorite people bonded.
She was still a little blown away by how quickly Alice, Jasper, and Jacob had come to like and respect each other. Sure, she loved all three of them, but she figured it would take them more time to consider each other true friends. The first time she'd been with Jake when Alice texted him, Bella nearly fell over from the surprise of it.
Bella wondered, not for the first time, if Edward would have ever tried to become friends with Jacob. She couldn't help but think the answer was no. There was too much hostility, too much animosity from Edward. Bella had assumed it was because of the whole mortal enemy thing, but Alice and Jasper had quickly proved that wasn't the case. Even before the three supernatural beings became friendly, there was no ill will from any of them. Some uncertainty, yes, but none of the venom she heard in Edward's voice any time he said Jacob Black's name.
"Earth to Bella," a voice sang from beside her, jolting her out of her thoughts. "You okay?"
"Sorry, just thinking," Bella shrugged, not wanting to waste the time she had with Alice and Jasper talking about Edward Cullen.
"I may not always be here in person, Bella, but I'm never more than a phone call away," Alice replied quietly, having a pretty good idea what was on her favorite human's mind. She had known that her best friend was starting to question things about her relationship with Edward for a while now, but the few times she decided to talk to Alice about it, she changed her mind at the last minute. Alice knew it was a conversation she couldn't push. It could only happen when Bella was ready. "And if you ever need me here, I'll come."
"I know," Bella nodded, her throat tight with emotion. "I know, and thank you."
Bella felt a hand on her shoulder then and looked up into Jasper's concerned face. Damn, sometimes she forgot he was an empath. She corralled her thoughts and pushed them to the corner of her mind. This wasn't the time or place for all of her doubts and uncertainty to come pouring out. She'd deal with that tangled mess later.
"I'm okay," she reassured him.
Jasper nodded, accepting her answer easily. Just because he could feel her emotions didn't give him the right to question her about them. They were her feelings. He'd certainly never openly call her on them when there were other people around.
Bella Swan may have been his mate, but she was her own person and he respected her enough to give her as much privacy as he could when it came to his gift.
Bella couldn't stop herself from having another moment of silent reflection as she saw how the two vampires had responded to her. Alice didn't push her to talk when she wasn't ready, simply offered to listen when she was ready. Jasper hadn't pressed her on what was wrong when he felt her emotions, believing her when she said she was okay. He didn't air her private emotions just because he could. Neither of them had pushed and prodded and grilled her until she gave in.
All Bella could feel in that moment was relief and gratitude. No, her two vampires were nothing like her former boyfriend. And she couldn't help but think that was nothing but a good thing.
