WHO: Bella and Jacob (dontlapushme) WHEN: Soon after Bella arrived WHERE: Bella's apartment WHAT: Jacob comes to find Bella, to check that she'd alright RATING: Low STATUS: Complete
Jacob used his wolf sense of smell to track down where Bella was, he knew her scent well enough and soon found her. He started beating on the door, yelling. "Bella!" He prayed that she was okay, and why did she think he was hurt? She was the one that he hadn't seen her since she ran off to get Edward from whatever that blood sucker was doing. He knew she had gotten back homebut he hadn't heard from her. Charlie probably grounded her until she was thirty.
Bella jumped up from where she was sitting on the couch and rushed to the door, yanking it open before Jacob managed to knock it down. "Jake, calm down," she told him once she could see him. She stood there for a moment before stepping forward and wrapping her arms tight around him. She'd been so scared he was going to die. But here he was, safe and sound and Jake. She buried her face in his chest, holding on tightly around his muscled neck.
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. "You're okay, Bella... you're okay," he whispered, as he burired his face into her hair. "
She stepped back, hitting his chest - although she knew she couldn't hurt him. "I'm okay? I'm worried about you, you idiot! Your ribs... How did they heal so quickly?"
"You're gonna hurt yourself, and what are you talking about, Bella?" he asked her, confused. He never hurt his ribs, what was she going on about? "Tell me what's the last thing you remember?"
"Yeah well it won't hurt as much as when I punched you," she said with one eyebrow raised, unimpressed. She couldn't understand why he was talking as though he didn't remember the battle or getting hurt. It wasn't something you could forget easily, unless he still had a fever. "I remember you. In pain! The newborn... it nearly killed you, Jake."
He frowned at her, taking her inside and shutting the door. He brought her over to the couch and sat down with her, holding her hands. "Deep breathe, Bella, okay? I never fought a newborn. I think you're from the future, and I'm from your past. You left with Alice, to save that- Edward..." he said softly.
Bella was irritated that he was treating her like a child and she pulled away from him when she sat down, sitting at the other end of the couch. She frowned, shaking her head a little trying to work out what Jacob was talking about. "You mean.... Italy? But... that was months ago, Jacob."
"Bella..." he said softly, moving to over to her. "And yeah, Italy, I told you... they take people from all over, from different times," he told her softly, not wanting to upset her more.
Bella raised her eyebrows and took a deep breath, trying to take it all in. She didn't understand how this could be happening, but she was here and, according to that Elena girl, there was no getting out of it. "Hold on," she said after a moment, narrowing her eyes at him. "You weren't talking to me when I got back from Italy..."
"I haven't talked to you, you didn't contact me and well... you made it clear you wanted him, no matter how much I..." he trailed off, not even bothering to say it. What was the point? She was in love with the blood sucker, he wasn't the right kind of monster.
"That's not true," Bella said, still frowning. "I called you and you never replied." She didn't know why she was having this argument all over again. It had been settled months ago for her, although things hadn't exactly gotten any easier. Her eyes lingers on Jacob's lips for a moment. He'd kissed her only that morning. She'd asked him to kiss her. "Anyway, whatever... how are we going to get home?"
"I don't think we can, I ran for hours, dead ends all over." He sighed, she didn't even care that he was madly in love with her. She was still all Edward, all the time. "I'm sure you'll be okay, Edward will turn up and then it won't matter where you are." He stood up, moving over to the window, staring out at the city. This was pointless.
Bella lifted her hand, running her fingers through her hair, unaware that it was her left hand where the engagement ring rested on her fourth finger. She looked up at Jacob but didn't stand up, just sighed. "We still need to get home, Jake," she said softly, hearing the jealousy in his voice. "The Volturi, Charlie, your dad! We still need to get home... even if Edward does show up."
Jacob turned and looked at her, the ring catching his eye. "It's true... you.. you married him," he said softly, staring at her. How could she just...marry that blood sucker?
Bella glanced down at the ring as she tucked her hands into the lap, looking back up at Jacob with pleading eyes. "Not yet," she said quietly, chewing at her lip once the words had left her mouth. "But...after graduation." She looked down with a frown. "I was going to tell you, after the battle, but then you heard..." Then he had kissed her and it had been...amazing, but she couldn't tell him that.
He shook his head, sighing. "It doesn't matter, not in my time or yours. You will always pick him, Bella... I don't understand. When he left you, I took care of you, I helped you, we spent time together... but nothing was every good enough for you," he whispered.*
"Jake," she said, pushing her hair back from her face as she stood up. "When he was gone... that wasn't really me. That was... a shell. And you made me feel alive again, but it wasn't your fault that I wasn't all there." She stopped, realising that she'd been walking closer to him. "You're too good for me, Jake. I can't give anything back to you."
He stepped away from her, shaking his head. "It wasn't you, it was a shell... Well, I wish that shell would have stayed because you gave me everything I needed..." he told her, staring at the ring on her finger. How could she be so stupid?
"Jacob," she said in a scolding voice. "This isn't fair. I care about you, you know I do, but... this isn't the most important thing right now. There are... other people here. There's another me. She's a vampire! We need to get home."
"It's never important, Bella!" he said, sighing. "And the other you is the dream you, it's who you will become!" He turned away, hurt. "There is no way home, Bella. You're stuck here without your preious Cullens." He felt hisbody temp raise and he let outa little growl, moving to the door quickly.
Bella frowned. Technically the Cullens were here, but they weren't her Cullens and, most importantly, it wasn't her Edward. She looked up to see Jacob heading for the door. "Jake, please... wait," she said, running after him and putting a hand out to grab his arm. She didn't want to be left here alone. "Okay.. so, we're not going home but... what do we do? I mean...why are we here, even?"
He sighed at her touch, though it did relax him a little. "I don't know, Bella... but I tried it get out. I questioned people but no one knows anything. We're stuck here for someone's sick amusement," he told her, pulling her into a gentle hug, knowing in the back of his head as soon as Edward showed up, he'd be put on the backburner.
Bella was a little surprised by his hug, and stood a little stiffly in his arms until she finally lifted her hands to pat his elbows. "I guess we just... make the best of it then," she said with a small frown, stepping back a little. God, this was awkward. She didn't want to feel this way with Jacob. He had been her salvation when she'd been without Edward before, but now, since she'd gone to Italy in his time and since that kiss in her time, there was so much between them. It would be so much easier if she could just make up her mind about how she felt about him. She gulped. "Where are you staying?" she asked, her brows furrowed.
"I have a apartment, just like you, though, I haven't been to it yet. I don't even remember where it is, but yeah. I guess I'm staying there, or in the woods," he told her, taking a step away from her since she was making this all awkward.
Bella frowned, looking up at him as he stepped away. "You can't stay in the woods," she told him, definitely. She knew he'd probably try to argue and tell her that he was capable of looking after himself, but there was no knowing what type of people - or things - were in this place. And he didn't have his pack here. "You'll let me know where you're staying?"
"I was in wolf form last night, and I was just fine in the woods. It feels more like at home, then a stuffy apartment with three or four strangers," he told her, sighing softly. "And yeah, I guess so."
"Jacob, you have... no idea what's out there," she told him, trying to stay rational. "This isn't home. This place could be, you know... dangerous!" She chewed her lip, her face showing how concerned she was him.
"Would you worry if it was Edward?" he asked, staring at her for a long moment.
Bella met his gaze, shoving her hands into her pockets. "What do you mean?" she asked, not wanting to go and annoy him for no reason. She wished he'd just stop bringing up Edward. They both knew he didn't like her fiancee, but talking about it wasn't going to help. They were here and they were stuck here, so they needed to make the best of it, and that didn't include falling out because he was jealous.
He paced for a second, shaking his head, trying to clear it. "I mean, if Edward was here, would you be worried for his safety? Would you tell him that this place was dangerous?" he asked her, meeting her gaze.
Bella frowned. "Of course I would be," she said, raising his shoulders a little. "I just said.. this place is, I don't know, unknown or something." She took a little step towards him, pulling her hands out of her pockets. "Jake, I care about you. You know that. I don't want anything to happen to you."
He looked down, sighing. "I know you want me safe, and I know you care about me. But... You don't know how hard it is to just listen to you, Bella. You don't get how much it hurts to just stand here and know that you would rather Edward by your side then me," he told her, sighing as he pushed his hands into his cargo shorts.
Bella looked down, biting at her lip. "Jacob... you're my friend," she said, putting emphasis on the last word. She couldn't be more than that to him, even though part of her wanted to be. She did love him. She knew that now. But she loved Edward too. And she did wish he was here. But she hated hurting Jacob. He had been so good to her. It was tearing her up inside. "Please, Jacob. Don't do this." She needed him.
"Don't do what? Don't be hurt? Or maybe I shouldn't be your firned, sucking it up all the time. Maybe I shouldn't let you use me until Edward gets here, so you can ditch me again. Maybe, just maybe, I should do this," he told her putting a emphasis on this. "Maybe, you shouldn't do this, Bella," he said with a growl.
Bella's eyebrows drew together in an unhappy frown. She didn't know what to say to him. She hated hurting him, but what could she do? She was engaged to Edward, whether her Edward was here or not. "I'm... sorry," she said, not meeting his eyes.
"You're always sorry, Bella. But you never think about what you're doing to other people. You never think about anyone but him, he's brainwashed you. It's disgusting," he told her, turning away and going to the door, jerking it open.
Bella was hurt by his words. Her mouth dropped open slightly, but what else could she say. She wrapped her arms around her instinctively, trying to stop the hurt inside. He'd promised he wouldn't hurt her, but he was from a time when she definitely wasn't his favourite person, so she supposed she shouldn't really be surprised by this. "Jake..." she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. Still, she had no words to follow it up with, so she turned and walked away, stopping by the couch.
He stopped, not looking back at her. "What, Bella?" he asked her, his own hand gripping the door, angry, trying to control his temper. He was alive and breathing and just as much of a monster as Edward, and he was a lot nicer to look at and yet, she always picked him.
"Nothing," she said, not turning around. She was holding back tears, and she was annoyed at herself for the stinging moisture in her eyes. At least she'd managed to keep it out of her voice. She just couldn't believe she was losing Jacob when she was already so alone. She thought she'd always have him. She thought he'd always be her rock, the one she could depend on. She didn't want to lose that, but she just couldn't deny her love for Edward.
He felt a pain in his stomach, knowing she was upset, and it was killing him. "Bella..." he whispered, moving over to her, he wrapped his arms around you. "I love you, Bella, so much that it hurts," he told her, biting his lip for a second. He turned her around, grabbing her arms gently, pulling her close, he pressed his lips against her. The kiss wasn't forceful, he'd pull back if she wanted him to, but it was soft, gentle, passionate, needy.
Bella was glad to have his arms around her, hear the softer tone in his voice. She needed his comfort, no matter how selfish that was. She relaxed back against him, knowing she was probably only making the situation worse. She turned in his embrace, but then he was kissing her. It wasn't wild and passionate like earlier, and it felt good - so warm - but it was wrong. She was engaged to be married to Edward. "No...Jake," she said, frowning, pushing against his strong shoulders. "You can't just..." She wasn't angry like when he'd forced his kiss on her before, but she just couldn't let him do this. He would read more into it. And that must have been their first kiss for him. She shook her head. "I know...you love me. And I care about you. I really do. But... I'm going to marry Edward. And I'm sorry that it hurts you because you're my best friend." She screwed her eyes shut and stepped away, out of his arms.
He looked down, his eyes sad, and his heart broke. He just knew...if he kissed her, she'd change her mind, but...she didn't. He nodded and turned around, walking out the door, their was a noise and he shifted, his clothes shreaded in the hallway.
Bella opened her eyes, watching as he walked away. She rushed to the door, just in time to see the wolf disappearing along the corridor. She let her head hang forward, wrapping her arms tight around her again. Why did it hurt this much if she didn't love him the way she loved Edward? It felt almost as bad. Slowly, she stepped back and pushed the door shut. She was going to curl up in bed and not come out until... well, until she was forced to, for food or water or a shower. She didn't want to see or talk to people right now.