Here With Me
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Chapter One-The Pukenator
Jacob closed the hood of the old Chevy truck and patted it. "She's all good." He said to Bella who was standing next to him. He had just spent the last ten minutes demonstrating how to carry out basic checks on the engine. He could see by her dazed expression that he had lost her somewhere along the way. "Do you think you can remember all that?"
"Totally." Bella bobbed her head up and down in agreement.
Jacob fought a grin. "Bells, I can tell when you're lying. You didn't understand any of that, did you?" His dark eyes twinkled with mirth as he nudged his shoulder playfully against hers.
Bella didn't appear amused by his gentle teasing. A small frown marred her forehead. "We don't know each other well enough for you to be able to tell that."
Shit! She was right. At this point in their story, they had only seen each other a handful of times. They didn't really get to know each other well until after she brought the motorbikes over for him to fix.
"Um...I can just tell these things." Jacob tried to sound casual. "You have an expressive face. It's easy to read what you're thinking."
Bella's frown deepened. "That's weird because someone else told me I was difficult to read."
She sounded really upset about it. Normally Jacob would have thrown his arm around her shoulders in comfort while he gently coaxed her to tell him what was wrong. But he had already come on too strong already. He couldn't afford to slip up again, otherwise he would scare her off.
"Maybe I have a gift for face reading." He deadpanned. "You know instead of reading palms I read faces."
"That's so funny." Bella's tone showed she thought the exact opposite.
Jacob dug his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans. He couldn't believe how difficult it was to communicate with Bella. Normally their friendship was easy as breathing-well it was before Cullen got in the way and made everything difficult. Maybe things weren't flowing well because he was forced to think through his every action and every word in case he gave himself away.
"Um... so who was this crazy person who thought you were difficult to read?" He asked jovially.
Bella gave him a look which showed she thought he was the crazy one. "Some guy at school."
"What guy?"
"You're quite nosy, aren't you?" Bella muttered irritably. "It doesn't matter who it was."
"It seems to matter to you." Jacob retorted amiably. "Otherwise, why would you be so snappy about it?"
Bella opened her mouth as if she was about to issue a retort of her own, but she paused, eyeing him carefully, before a grudging smile lit up her pretty brown eyes. "Good point. Do you want a soda? I guess you deserve some kind of reward for all your hard work."
"Cool." Jacob let loose his biggest grin. "And some of your famous chocolate chip cookies would be great, too."
"How do you know about those?" Bella's smile disappeared to be replaced with another frown. She stared at him suspiciously.
Panic flashed across Jacob's face before Bella rescued him again.
"Did my dad say something?" She questioned.
"Yeah." Jacob breathed a sigh of relief. "You know the Chief. He's always bragging about you."
"Please, tell me you're joking." Bella's cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
"Nah." Jacob laughed. "Since you moved back in you are all he talks about when he comes over. That's probably why I seem to know so much about you."
"Probably." Bella mumbled in mortification as she led the way into the house.
Bella placed the opened can of soda on the table along with a plate of cookies. Jacob eagerly reached for one of the cookies and took a bite. The sublime taste of chocolate burst onto his tongue and he sighed in bliss.
"These are awesome, Bells." He praised her.
"Thanks." Bella's cheeks reddened again at his compliment, but unusually she accepted it without a fuss. That was new.
"So, have you settled into school yet? Made any friends?" Jacob fished for information.
"Kinda." Bella fiddled with her can of soda before taking a small sip. "Everyone's pretty friendly. I'm getting more attention than I expected." This admission seemed to trouble her as the frown was back.
Jacob felt his throat tighten. By attention it was obvious she meant of the male kind. He wondered if she was talking about Edward Cullen. He felt the usual anger and resentment building up inside at the thought of his rival being anywhere near her.
"Is anyone bothering you?" He questioned darkly.
Bella was startled by the underlying threat in his tone. She looked at him nervously. "Mike isn't bothering me." She responded hastily. "He's just a bit overeager sometimes."
Jacob immediately relaxed when she mentioned Mike's name. He was annoyed with himself for letting his inner feelings get the better of him. He composed his face into a warm smile. "You don't have to worry about the Marshmallow man." He quipped.
"Huh?" The joke was lost on this Bella. She stared at him in confusion. "How do you know Mike Newton?"
Jacob gaped at her with his mouth open. He'd slipped up again. He cursed his stupidity in his head as he tried to find a rational excuse. "Um...um...everyone knows the Pukenator."
"The Pukenator?" Bella shot him another puzzled look.
"Um...yeah...um...er..." Jacob fumbled for something to say. He racked his brains but they failed him, so instead he blurted out the first thing that came into his head. "Yeah, old Newton has got a bit of a rep."
"A rep?"
"Yeah, you know...a reputation." Jacob blundered on.
"For what?" Bella sat forward in her seat. He had her full attention now.
What was he supposed to say now?
"For puking."
God, what a tool!
"Puking?" Bella's brown eyes widened in alarm. "Does he have a weak stomach or something?"
"Yes." Jacob jumped on that straight away. "Whatever goes in always comes straight back out. I wouldn't sit next to him at lunch if I were you."
Bella's face paled at this statement. "Duly noted."
Jacob exhaled in relief that he'd escaped that one. He sat back in his seat and nabbed another cookie from the plate. He shoved it in whole and chewed happily.
"But, still, how do you know so much about Mike Newton? You go to school on the res, right?" Bella pressed.
Jacob choked on his cookie. He coughed and spluttered, spraying crumbs everywhere. He snatched up his soda and glugged the whole lot down in one go to dislodge it from his throat.
"Are you okay?" Bella asked anxiously.
"I'm fine. Completely fine." Jacob gasped. He felt the fizz bubbling in his intestines. Before he had a chance to stop it, air gushed back up into his throat and he burped loudly.
There was a beat of silence as Jacob's cheeks burned with mortification. Bella was staring at him like an alien had just exploded from his stomach.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He apologised profusely.
"It looks like Mike isn't the only one with a weak stomach." Bella giggled.
Jacob 's face broke out into another huge grin as he joined in her laughter. The ice was well and truly broken.
Jacob was beginning to believe his own lies. Bella wouldn't let the matter of how he knew Mike Newton drop, so he had been forced to concoct a cover story.
"It was through Quil and Em." He fibbed.
"Who are they?" Bella's eyes were alight with interest.
Jacob had her whole attention and he was revelling in it. "They're my best friends."
"Cool. And?" Bella urged him.
"Yeah, um...well one day they were at the movies and they ended up sitting behind Newton." Jacob was falling on his own experience of being at the pictures with Bella and Mike. It was the last time he had spent any quality time with her before he turned wolf. The memory sobered him up.
"What kind of film was it?" Bella encouraged him when he stopped talking.
"One of those action flicks." Jacob said vaguely. "Quil and Em noticed Mike because he was stuffing his face with all these marshmallows-"
"Now I understand the nickname." Bella cut in, giggling again.
"That's it." Jacob nodded. "He looked like one of those hamsters. His cheeks were puffed out like this." He blew out his own cheeks to show Bella what he meant.
"You're too funny." Bella wiped tears from her eyes.
"So I've been told." Jacob boasted. He resumed his fake story. "Anyway, he ate so many marshmallows-and with all the blood and gore playing out on the screen- it all got too much for him. He puked everywhere." Jacob mimed Newton being sick, sending Bella off into another giggling fit.
"I'm never gonna be able to look poor Mike in the face again." Bella said breathlessly as she tried to contain her laughter.
"Good luck with that."
"Thanks for that. I needed a good laugh." Bella picked up her own soda and took another sip. "Still, Mike's mishap made an interesting date for your friends. How long have Quil and Em been together?" She asked innocently. "You should introduce me sometime."
Jacob's mouth hung open as the extent of the misunderstanding sank in. She thought Quil and Embry were dating each other. Before he could explain Bella's cell went off. He watched as her expression turned serious when she checked who was calling.
"It's mom." She mouthed. "Excuse me." She got up from the table and walked into the hall so she could speak to her mother in private.
"Why do you keep grinning like an idiot?" Billy barked at Jacob suspiciously later that night.
"Am I?" Jacob's grin only got wider.
He was enjoying this dream or hallucination or whatever it was. He hoped he didn't wake up anytime soon. He had spent an enjoyable afternoon with Bella. He would have stayed into the evening but Charlie came back and pointedly offered to drive him home. Before he left Bella had invited him to First beach. Some of her new friends, Mike Newton included, had invited her the day before at school. As it was on his turf, she hoped he would be able to show her around. He had agreed right away.
"Bring Quil and Em." She suggested. "I'd like to meet them for real. It will be their chance to see the Pukenator in action again."
Jacob had left the Swan house on a high. He hadn't felt this happy in ages. This was the Bella he had never gotten to spend time with. This girl was glowing, full of life and vivacity. She hadn't been broken by the Cullens yet.
"You're doing it again." Billy's complaints broke through his thoughts.
"What?"
"Grinning as if all your birthdays have come at once." Billy's eyes narrowed. "It's because of a girl, isn't it? Who is she?"
"That's for me to know and you never to find out." Jacob countered as he headed into the kitchen with smirk.
A/N-thanks for reading!