Forever Yours [Twilight Fanfic]

Ch. 7 Who is in this picture beside Rachel and me?

A few minutes later, Bella begins to calm down, and she pulls herself away from Billy's grasp. She looks at Billy in the eyes, and she blushes, looking and feeling embarrassed that she poured her heart out in front of her father's childhood friend.

" I am so sorry for doing that," Bella mumbled.

Billy's gaze softened, and he gently brushed some of Bella's hair away from her face.

" No need to apologize. It is good to pour your heart out once and a while. Keeping your emotions to yourself can be bad," Billy tells Bella.

Bella slowly nods her head in response.

" Food is ready. I made sure to be careful putting it on the plate!" Jacob calls out, causing Bella and Billy to look at him.

Bella sadly frowned since she lost her appetite after pouring her heart out to Billy.

" Can you set my plate to the side? I'm not hungry anymore," Bella tells Jacob.

Billy turns his gaze to Bella since he figures that the young female lost her appetite.

" You sure?" Jacob asked while looking at Bella with a concerned gaze.

Bella nods her head in response, and she carefully stands up as she begins to walk away from the dining table to the living room.

Jacob opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped when he sees Billy looking at him with a stern stare. He frowned when he sees his father shaking his head and mouthing out to him that Bella needs time to herself and will eat when she gets hungry.

Bella mindlessly walked towards the fireplace, and she stops walking when her chocolate brown eyes spotted a picture frame on a wooden shelf above the chimney. She immediately sees a twelve-year-old version of herself piggyback riding a boy who looks the same age as her.

' Who is that? And why do I feel as though I know him?' Bella asked herself, looking and feeling curious as her hands grab the picture frame, and she continues to stare at the image.

' That girl who is happily smiling is me. The other girl, who looks a bit older than me with pigtails and has braces on her teeth, is definitely Rachel since Rebecca never had braces,' Bella tells herself, and she softly smiled.

' And that boy who is pulling on one of Rachel's pigtails, causing Rachel to glare at him. I think his name was Peter?' Bella tilted her head a bit, looking and feeling curious.

" Uncle Billy!" Bella calls out.

Billy took a bite of his meal, and he stops when he hears his name. He turns his head back, and he sees Bella holding a picture frame in her grasp.

" Um. Who is in this picture beside Rachel and me?" Bella asked while showing the picture frame to Billy.

Billy's chocolate brown eyes blinked, and his eyes squinted, and he immediately sees a young Jared Cameron and Paul Lahote on the picture with his eldest daughter and Bella.

" Ah! The boy pulling on Rachel's pigtails is Paul Lahote. He is four months younger than you. And the boy carrying you on his back is Jared Cameron. He is three months younger than you," Billy explains to Bella.

Bella turns the picture frame to her, and she silently stared at the image.

" Jared Cameron," Bella whispered, and her chocolate brown eyes blinked as she begins to recall a childhood memory.

" Wahh!" A ten-year-old Bella Swan is crying while a twelve-year-old Rachel Black is carefully cutting some of Bella's hair in the summer of 1998.

The two girls were outside near Black's residence. Bella is sitting on a wood stump crying because a ten-year-old Paul Lahote put gum on Bella's hair and ran off before Rachel could do something to him.

" That stupid idiot. I cannot believe he put gum on your hair! Why are boys so stupid?" Rachel asked while mumbling.

" Not all boys are stupid, Rach. Jay is a nice boy, unlike Pauly," Bella mumbled while sniffing.

" True. True," Rachel nods her head in response, and she continues to cut Bella's hair.

Footsteps walking up to the two girls grabbed their attention, and they turned to see a ten-year-old Jared Cameron.

" Ahhh!" Jared dramatically screams.

" Why are you screaming?" Rachel snaps at Jared, still feeling bitter over Paul's behavior towards her and Bella.

" Why are you cutting Belly's pretty hair!" Jared shouts at Rachel.

Bella sadly stares at Jared.

" P-Pauly put gum in my hair," Bella confessed as more tears fell from her chocolate brown eyes.

Jared's chocolate brown eyes widened in surprise when he heard his best friend put gum in Bella's hair.

" It's true! I saw the idiot put gum in Bella's hair," Rachel tells Jared.

Jared frowned when he sees Bella sadly stared at him. He didn't like seeing Bella sad and remembers how much she loves her long hair since Granny Marie always told her that she looks like a Princess. She even kept her hair long to remember her deceased grandmother.

" I'll be back!" Jared shouts as he turns around and runs away.

Thirty minutes later, Bella and Rachel were outside, drinking lemonade and eating cookies that Rachel's mother, Sarah, gave to them.

" Apologize to Belly!" A familiar young masculine voice grabbed the two girls' attention, and they turned to see a bruised-face Paul getting pushed towards the girls with Jared standing behind him.

Bella's nervous and scared gaze intently stared at a disgruntled Paul.

" I'm sorry for putting gum in your hair," Paul mumbled.

" What did you say, you idiot? I didn't hear you," Rachel sternly speaks.

Paul annoyingly glares at Rachel, and his chocolate brown eyes intently stared at Bella.

" I'm sorry for putting gum in your hair! I didn't know that you kept it long for your Granny," Paul apologized. " Please accept my apology! Jared is scary when you cry," He confessed.

Bella glanced at Jared, and the two children looked at one another in the eyes. She smiled happily, feeling touched that Jared defended her honor and remembered how much her long hair meant to the young girl.

" Apology accepted! Do you two want a cookie? Rachel's Mommy made it," Bella brightly smiled while grabbing two cookies and holding them to Jared and Paul.

" Why do you have to be such an angel, Bella!" Rachel dramatically hugs Bella, feeling protective of her younger best friend.

" That idiot doesn't deserve your friendly cookie. Jared, on the other hand, can take your friendly cookie," Rachel pulled her tongue out on Paul, causing the two kids to glare at one another.

Jared happily takes the cookie from Bella's grasp, feeling happy that Bella is smiling again since her smile reminded him of the sun, very warm and friendly. He glanced at Paul, and he nods his head at his best friend, carefully taking the cookie and devours it that made his cheeks puffed up like a squirrel.

Bella and Rachel amusingly laughed at the sight of Paul looking like a squirrel. Jared laughed along with them, causing Paul to glare at them and frequently wonder how he is even friends with the three kids.

" Hey, Elder Billy Black!" A friendly masculine voice brings Bella back to reality.

Bella hears the door open, slowly turns around, and she stood there when she sees three masculine men enter the house unannounced.