Hands on Me (A Twilight Fanfiction written by IndependentIndividuality)

Chapter Fifteen: In Which There is Talk of Burning

Chapter Fifteen: In Which There is Talk of Burning

i can't stop, don't care if i lose

baby, you are the weapon i choose

- katy perry, self inflicted

-

Alice called after our week was up to give us another five days as long as we kept what we were doing up.

"Tell them I love them," I whispered desperately in Jake's ear, as low as I could manage.

"Vanessa sends her love," he'd said into the receiver before the line clicked dead.

It didn't feel like enough.

Jacob still wouldn't share the bed with me, but I tried not to let it bother me too much, though it was mostly in vain. I couldn't pretend to understand, but it helped that we had returned mostly to normal. Jake was much more subdued because of his worry for Billy, though he tried not to let it show. We decided he should phase as often as possible to keep tabs on the situation – if things got any worse I was planning on finding a way to force him back to Forks.

I learned how to do laundry in a laundromat, which was fun, until we were interrupted about halfway through. I was folding Jacob's massive t-shirts neatly at one of the provided tables when I was approached by a man about Jacob's age with light brown hair and green eyes.

I didn't really realize he was approaching, concentrated as I was on the strange pleasure I took in doing things like this for Jacob, until he dropped into the seat across from me. I looked up suddenly as I felt the air move, a fraction of a second before I heard the sound.

"Hi," he'd said in a friendly tone. "What's your name?"

"Um . . . Vanessa," I answered, catching myself at the last second.

"That's a pretty name, Vanessa – I know this seems a little forward, but can I ask you a question?"

I just nodded dumbly, still a little shocked at being approached by a total stranger. This had literally never happened to me before.

"Are you with that guy over there?" He asked, gesturing a ways behind me, and I didn't have to look to know who he meant.

"Oh, yeah," I said, nodding at the simple question. "That's Jake."

"So . . . you're not available?"

I felt my face turn quizzical. "Availa –"

"She's not," I heard Jacob say from behind me in his Alpha voice, different from the tone he used with me, scarier. He placed a warm hand on my shoulder and despite my confusion, I instinctively leaned into it.

"No offense, man, but I'd like to hear it from her," he'd answered back, turning his gaze back to me, but I wasn't sure what he wanted to hear. "So are you available?"

I glanced up quickly at Jake, to see him glaring murderously at the guy across from me. I looked back at the brown-haired man, who was still looking expectantly at me.

"Available for what?" I blurted, and the guy looked confused and Jacob's fingers tightened on my shoulder.

"To go out."

I felt like I should understand, and was frustrated that I couldn't. Jacob, towering above me, literally growled and the guy's calm looked a little more rattled than before.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about," I told him honestly, just hoping he would go away soon before Jacob broke his neck. "I can't go out anywhere – Jake and I are doing laundry, and I don't even know you."