Impasse

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A Most Important Question

Dinner was awkward to say the least. By the end of it even Charlie looked like he was regretting letting Mike railroad him into an invitation. Mike was a complete sports fanatic. His excessive enthusiasm and intense devotion to his favorite teams proved exhausting after a while. Initially Charlie had eagerly joined in the conversation, being partial to sports himself, especially baseball, but even his energy waned as Mike began to go into too much technical detail, dominating the conversation to such an extent that Bella and Charlie gave up on participating at all.

Finally, there was a brief lull when Mike eventually had to pause for breath. Charlie took the opportunity to jump in, desperate to change the subject.

"Dinner smells good, Bells. I think this must be the best steak and potatoes I've ever tasted."

Bella smiled at that. She knew that Charlie still shuddered at the memory of Renee's imaginative cooking, her experiments were not exactly edible.

"I agree." Mike butted in before Bella had a chance to answer. "This salad is to die for." He declared, shoving some lettuce in his mouth, and chewing enthusiastically.

"Thank you… I think." Bella murmured, sharing a wry glance with Charlie.

Mike began to ramble on again, not even seeming to need a response, it was like he enjoyed the sound of his own voice. Or on the other hand maybe it was rare that he was allowed to take center stage like this in his own home and he was making full use of the opportunity to hold court. Whatever the true reason was, both Bella and Charlie's patience was beginning to wear thin.

During yet another brief lull when Mike's mouth was too full to chew and talk at the same time, Charlie tried to steer the conversation in another direction.

"So, how did you like school, Bells? Did you think you recognized anyone? Or made any new friends?" He asked, helping himself to seconds.

"Well, besides Mike here, I had a few classes with a girl called Jessica. She seemed pretty nice. She mentioned that we were quite good friends." Bella replied hastily before Mike could interrupt again. She saw his mouth open to express his opinion, but she didn't give him the chance to speak. "I do think that Jessica has a teeny bit of a crush on our guest here." She added slyly, turning her head fully in Mike's direction to gauge his reaction.

Mike choked on his food, thumping himself hard on the chest as he tried to get it to travel the rest of the way down his esophagus. "Um…well…we…Jess and I…we kinda did go out on a few dates. But that was a long time ago. I can assure you, Bella, and you, Chief Swan, that I am totally free and single now. I have no romantic attachments at all." He smiled at Charlie ingratiatingly, making the older man feel slightly nauseated.

Bella was beginning to wish she had never brought up the subject of Jessica's little crush. It was obvious where Mike's little declaration to her and Charlie was leading. He was trying to reassure them that he was a free man, and that there would be no problem with any romantic entanglements if he were to ask Bella out on a date.

"Actually, I was only saying to Bella earlier, Chief Swan, that prom is coming up soon." Mike carried on regardless, oblivious to his less than enthusiastic audience. "Instead of coupling up, a group of us are planning to go together. I really think it would be a good opportunity for Bella to reconnect with everyone. And, I, of course would make sure to take good care of her throughout the night."

Mike beamed around at both; his blue eyes lit up with the sheer excitement at the prospect of escorting Bella to the most anticipated social event of the year at Forks High.

Bella exchanged an alarmed glance with Charlie. He stared back at her, mimicking her disbelief. Mike Newton really was something else. Thankfully they were both saved from having to respond by a loud knock on the front door.

Charlie immediately scraped his chair back, wiping his mouth with a paper napkin before throwing it down on the table. "I'll answer it. That must be Jake."

Mike's exuberance died a little as he looked over at Bella in confusion. "Who's Jake?" He asked, not quite able to hide his pique at the unintentional interruption.

Bella decided to grasp this opportunity at salvation with both hands. "Oh, Jake, he's just the most amazing guy." She gushed fervently. "He's been a terrific help since I came out of hospital. He's my closest friend. I don't know what I would do without him."

"You never mentioned him before." Mike said resentfully, a little bit of jealousy slipping out in his tone.

"Haven't I?" Bella gave him a wide-eyed innocent look. "I'm surprised. We do everything together." She made sure to emphasize the everything.

"You do? How old is this guy? Where does he live? I'm pretty sure I know most people in this town." Mike fired off one question after another, barely giving Bella a chance to answer.

"Jake lives and goes to school on the reservation. He'll be turning sixteen soon – "Bella began.

"Oh, so he's a sophomore!" Mike exclaimed in relief, picturing Jacob as some young kid in his mind, no longer seeing him as a rival for Bella's affections.

That was until the sophomore strode confidently into the kitchen, laughing and joking with Charlie.

The first thing Mike took in was Jacob's size. He cast a shadow that nearly filled the room. He obviously spent a lot of time working out if the size of his muscles was anything to go by. No kid his age that he knew of was built like that. He was beginning to wonder if Bella had been teasing him when she said that the guy was only fifteen, because he certainly didn't look it. Jacob's tailored black t-shirt fitted him snugly, showing off a very impressive six pack. Mike felt like a little runt in comparison.

Then to make everything worse, Mike was forced to watch as Bella greeted the muscle-bound teenager with a smile so bright it was blinding. "Hey, Jacob!" He had never even seen her greet Edward Cullen like that, and that was saying something considering how tight they were before the accident.

Mike felt his last chance of wooing Bella fade away as he watched Jacob scoop a laughing Bella out of her chair into a full body hug. She was still laughing when Jacob set her back down, her face flushed with happiness.

Bella finally seemed to remember that Mike was still sitting at the table. She turned to him, still smiling. "Hey, Mike, this is Jacob Black. The guy I was telling you about."

"Right." Mike held out his hand reluctantly.

"Old family friend." Jacob introduced himself, shaking hands. They locked hands with more force than necessary. When their grip broke, Mike flexed his fingers, his face paler than normal.

The phone rang then.

"I'll get it." Charlie said, trying his best to keep a straight face. He wasn't so old that he didn't recognize a pissing contest when he saw one. "Hey, Bells, if you are thinking of going to your prom with this group thing that Mike here has organized, why don't you invite Jake along to make up the numbers?" He smirked when he saw a look of horror cross Mike's face, which the kid quickly tried to suppress.

"Prom, huh?" Jacob said, glancing down at Bella with raised eyebrows. "Sounds fun. Fancy taking a turn on the dance floor with yours truly?" He teased.

"You're too young." Mike blurted out.

Both Jacob and Bella looked at him quizzically.

"I mean – you won't know anyone." Mike backtracked sullenly.

"He'll know me. And now he knows you." Bella responded with a steely glare. She hadn't originally had any intention of attending prom. Any sort of social activity which included dancing usually filled her with terror, but for some reason Mike's negativity was really getting under her skin.

"I suppose." Mike agreed glumly.

Bella ignored his sulky expression and turned to look up at a gleeful Jacob. "Jake, would you like to go to the prom with me?" She asked.

"Sure, sure." Jacob agreed, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

A/N-thanks for reading!