Impasse

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

Heat

The movie was exactly as it professed to be. In just the opening credits, four people got blown up and one got beheaded. Bella put her hands over her eyes and turned her face into Jacob's chest. He patted her shoulder, and winced occasionally, too.

During a lull in the violence, Bella settled in to endure the next two hours, watching the colours and the movement on the TV screen rather than seeing the shape of the people and cars and houses. And then Jacob started sniggering.

"What?" Bella asked.

"Oh, c'mon." He snickered. "The blood squirted twenty feet out of that guy. How fake can you get?"

He laughed again as a flagpole speared another man into a concrete wall.

After that, Bella really watched the movie, laughing along with him as the mayhem got more and more ridiculous. Looking at all the farfetched scenarios, it should have been labelled as a black comedy rather than a gory action movie. Still, she couldn't understand why it was so popular. There was no real storyline, the dialogue was dire, and the actors sounded wooden at best. Even the CGI was poor.

When the end credits finally rolled up, both Jacob and Bella cut up laughing until they ran out of breath and tears were rolling down their cheeks.

"Oh." Jacob said breathlessly, wiping his tears away with the back of his hand. "That was the dumbest movie I've ever seen."

"Yeah." Bella agreed, struggling to breathe. "It definitely falls into the it's so bad its good category."

"Definitely a future classic." Jacob sat up straighter on the sofa and stretched his long legs out in front of him. He then shifted over a little to put his arm around Bella's shoulders.

"Jake." Bella protested nervously, her laughter dying on her lips.

Jacob dropped his arm, not looking at all bothered by the minor rejection. He reached out and took her hand firmly, wrapping his other hand around her wrist in case she tried to pull away. Bella wondered where he got his confidence from.

"Now, just hold on a minute, Bella." He said calmly. "Tell me something."

Bella tensed. She didn't want to do this. She wasn't ready for anything more than friendship right now. However, there was nothing more important in her life than Jacob Black. But he seemed determined to blur the lines anyway.

"What?" She murmured fretfully.

"You like me, right?"

"You know I do."

"Better than any of the other guys you know?" Jacob was calm, serene – as if her answer didn't matter, or he already knew what it was.

"Amnesiac, remember?" She reminded him, trying to make light of it. "I don't remember."

Jacob wasn't put off though. "I know that – and I know how much you're struggling. But you do like me better than anyone else you know or remember." He said, and it wasn't a question.

It was hard for Bella to answer, to say the word. Would he get hurt and avoid her if she said she wasn't ready for any kind of romantic entanglement yet? How would she stand that?

"Yes." She whispered.

Jacob grinned down at her. "That's okay, you know. As long as you like me the best. I'm prepared to be annoyingly persistent."

"The situation is not going to change anytime soon, Jacob." Bella said earnestly, and though she tried to keep her voice normal, he could hear the sadness in it. "I need to figure out who I am…or was…there is such a big black hole in my memory. Its scary."

Jacob's face was thoughtful, no longer teasing. "I understand that, Bells. I really do. You don't have to talk about it."

Bella nodded gratefully. He always seemed able to pick up on so much about her that she never said.

"But don't get mad at me for hanging around, okay?" Jacob patted the back of her hand. "Because I'm not giving up and I've got loads of time."

Bella sighed. "You shouldn't waste it on me." She said, though she wanted him to, so badly. Especially if he was willing to accept her the way she was – damaged goods, as is.

"It's what I want to do, as long as you still like to be with me."

"I can't imagine how I could not like being with you." Bella told him honestly.

Jacob beamed. "I can live with that."

"Just don't expect more right now." Bella reiterated again, trying to pull her hand away to make her point. Jacob held on to it obstinately.

"This doesn't really bother you, does it?" He asked gently, squeezing her fingers.

"No." She sighed. Truthfully, it felt nice. His hand was so much warmer than hers, she always felt too cold these days.

"The pin's out of the grenade for me, now, eh?" Jacob poked her playfully in the side.

Bella rolled her eyes. She guessed if he felt like making a joke out of it, he was entitled.

Jacob laughed quietly for a minute while his pinky finger absently traced designs against the side of Bella's hand.

"That's a funny scar you've got there." He suddenly said, twisting her hand to examine it. "How did that happen?"

The index finger of his free hand followed the line of the long, silvery crescent that was barely visible against her pale skin.

Bella winced as a burning sensation made itself felt along the scar lines wherever he touched. "Do you mind not doing that?" She asked. "It hurts."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Jacob said apologetically.

"It's okay – just a bit sensitive." Bella gently pulled her hand away from his and lifted it to examine the mark on her wrist. Because of her clumsiness she had spent a lifetime collecting scars. With all the other injuries she'd gotten from the 'accident' this one seemed too minor to bother about. But looking at it more closely, the scar bore the physical characteristics of a human bite mark. It had an elliptical pattern containing tooth and arch marks. Nausea rose in her throat and she shivered.

"Cold again?" Jacob asked, putting his arm around her shoulder before she could answer.

"I'm always cold these days." Bella mumbled, feeling the muscles in her throat tighten. She quickly rested her hand down in her lap, shutting off all thoughts so she wouldn't have time to think about what this meant.

Jacob was too distracted to notice her sudden change in mood. "I'm always hot." He said seriously. "I never feel the cold anymore. Lucky me, eh?"

"You must have a fever or something." Bella grumbled as another cold shiver ran down her spine. The cusp of a memory was trying to break through. She could feel it tying to unfurl in the dark recesses of her mind and she sought to repress it. To aid her along she kept the conversation with Jacob flowing. She reached up and touched his forehead with her fingers, and his head was hot.

"Whoa, Jake – you're burning up!"

"I feel fine." He shrugged. "As fit as a fiddle."

Bella frowned and touched his head again. His skin blazed under her fingers.

"Your hands are like ice." Jacob complained.

"Maybe its me." She allowed.

Jacob turned quiet and thoughtful. He left his arm around her, and Bella gratefully lapped up the warmth.

A comfortable silence fell. Jacob slumped onto the couch, a sheen of perspiration now coating his forehead. His fever had seemed to come on very suddenly. He closed his eyes and let his limbs fall loose, head tilting backward, indenting the soft cushions.

"You know, Bells." He said after a while. "I think you might be right about the fever. I'm starting to feel a little…strange."

"Oh, no, Jake." Bella fretted. "I've got some Tylenol upstairs if you feel sick."

"No, I don't feel sick so much." Jacob shook his head, his eyebrows pulling together. "Just…wrong. I think I might have to call it a night, though. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." Bella reassured him. "I had a nice night. The prom was a bust, but I enjoyed movie night. You'll have to call a cab, though. My dad won't be home until late."

"Okay."

"And you will call me as soon as you get in?" Bella continued anxiously.

"Sure, sure." Jacob frowned, staring straight ahead, and biting his lip. He caught hold of Bella's hand again, the one with the scar, and held it tightly. She noticed again how hot his skin was on hers.

"What is it, Jake?"

"There's something I want to tell you, Bella…. but I think it's going to sound kind of corny."

Bella sighed; this would be more of the same kind of stuff he had said earlier. "Go ahead."

"Its just that, I know this is all happening quite fast. And maybe I shouldn't be saying it, but I want to be honest with you about how I feel. I want you to know that I'm always here for you in whatever way you need me. I won't ever let you down – I promise you can always count on me. Wow, that does sound corny. But you know that, right? That I would never, ever hurt you?"

"Yeah, Jake. I know that. And I already do count on you, probably more than you know."

The familiar radiant smile broke across his face the way the sunrise set the clouds on fire. However, it just as quickly faded as a strange look crossed his face.

"Bella, can you smell that?"

Bella regarded him with confusion. She inhaled deeply, but other than the usual, there was nothing she could pinpoint that was out of the ordinary.

"I can't smell anything."

Then Jacob bolted upright, his eyes narrowing. He scanned the room, focusing especially on the shadowy corners. "Did you hear that?"

His odd behaviour was making Bella very jumpy. She looked up at him, trying to reach for his hand to pull him back down on the sofa beside her, but he evaded her touch and began to stalk around the room, as if looking for the source of the noise that only he could hear.

A/N-thanks for reading!