The Newest Moon

Jacksonville

Chapter 12: Jacksonville

Bella POV:

I woke up and looked outside my bedroom window. Jikes, it was raining again. Meaning it was sweater weather. Or you could say, just a normal day in Forks, Washington. I did not want to get up this early so instead, I grabbed my phone. Jake would've for sure answered me by now. Or at least, that's what I thought. I opened our chat and saw nothing.

Heh? This was madness. I wasn't even that mean to him yesterday, right? He could not still be mad at me for that little outburst, right? Oh no, I really did not want to fight one of my best friends. Maybe I could cancel being grounded for one day. I only had to convince Charlie. If I told him I needed to see Jacob since we had a fight, he would love to drive me to their house, I was sure of it.

With a newfound motivation for the day, I jumped out of my bed. I quickly grabbed a pair of jeans and put on a blue blouse. I walked towards the bathroom and washed my face. I put on some lip balm and a fresh coat of mascara. Operation begging Charlie to drive me to Jacob's house could begin.

I walked down the stairs and did not see Charlie. He must have already left then. New plan, maybe I could ask him after school. Oh wait, how do I get to school then? I'm still grounded and not allowed to drive. I was eating my cereal and contemplating taking the bus to school when the doorbell rang. I swear, if this was a Cullen, he wouldn't live to see that day. I rushed over to the door, opened it to find...

'Jake!' I exclaimed happily. Before I could think it through, I pulled him into a tight embrace. 'I'm so sorry, Jakey,' I said to him, still nearly crushing his bones with the force of my hug.

'Woah Bells, what's gotten into you?' He awkwardly patted my back in return. I guess we never really hugged this long before. and maybe it's because I've known Jacob since we were both kids, but this hug felt extremely comfortable. It wasn't weird. There wasn't any tension, it was just plain comfortable. The complete opposite of hugging Edward actually. I was always a little bit afraid to push Edward's limits, not allowing myself to hug him fully, afraid that the inevitable would happen. He made my heartbeat quicken, made my palms sweaty and made my thoughts go mushy. Jacob was different. He wasn't ice cold, to begin with, and my body easily melted into his.

I stopped hugging him, took a step back and looked at him. I guess he felt a little bit embarrassed, as he avoided eye contact and looked down at his feet.

'What are you doing here?' I asked him. He looked up and smiled again.

'I'm giving you a ride to school, Charlie said it was fine.' He pointed at the car behind him. I hadn't even noticed the bright red Peugeot 208. Woah, that was a nice ride. Better than the one that was crushed in the accident.

'Since when do you have a new car?'

'I don't. I could borrow Sam's car since mine is practically dead. You remember Sam, right?'

'Tall guy, long black hair and brown eyes? It rings a bell,' I said with a wink. Since Jacob and I began hanging out, I've met a few of his friends. They basically all looked alike; tall and handsome young men with long, dark hair. Jessica would have even called them 'totally hot.' I didn't mind hanging out with them.

'That's the one. Now, hop in. I don't want to anger Charlie any further.' We both got into the car and he drove away. We were lost in thought until I remembered Jacob mentioning Charlie.

'So, how did you convince my dad to give me a ride?' I asked him. 'I'm still grounded and your car is dead.'

Jacob took a deep breath before he spoke; 'Bells, promise me you won't get mad?'