A Potter Secret

The Bikes

Bella pulls up in her truck, a tarp covering something big in the back. Jacob comes out of the house. A huge grin. "Bella!" Jacob calls. Bella hops out, Jacob gives her a hug. Bella's surprised by his affection, but doesn't mind. "'Bout time you came by."

"I brought you something," Bella says. Bella pulls the tarp back, revealing her neighbor's two dilapidated, rusting motorcycles.

"Scrap metal. You shouldn't have," Jacob jokes.

"I rescued them from the dump. They'd cost more than they're worth to fix unless one had a mechanic-type friend."

"Me, being the mechanic-type friend? Since when are you into motorcycles?"

"Recently."

Jacob studies the bike. "The parts alone will be pricey."

"I have a college fund I can dig into," Bella assures, thinking instead of her Gringotts accounts.

"Charlie's gonna love that."

"Charlie won't know."

"Wow. Lying to Dad. Blowing through college money. Repairing dangerous machines- that I'm guessing you'll want to ride?"

"I really get it if you think this is stupid and reckless," Bella replies.

"Oh it's totally stupid and reckless. When do we start?" Bella face spreads into something we haven't seen in a while. A wide smile. As they pull the bikes off the truck, they laugh and joke; it's as though Jacob has brought Bella back to life. But someone's watching as the two of them wheel the bikes into the garage. Sam Uley. Next to Sam stand two others, Jared and Paul. All three have cropped hair, sleeveless shirts, cut-offs. It's unsettling how they watch Bella and Jacob; the ferocity in their eyes, the danger. Sam turns; the others follow his lead. The three slink soundlessly into the darkness of the woods.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Motorcycle parts are spread out on blankets. Jacob moves among them excitedly, piecing them together. Bella watches. "If we're going to be working on this every day, we should probably include some homework. Don't want the Dads to think I'm a bad influence on you," Bella says.

"You influence me? Please," Jacob laughs.

"I am older than you," Bella points out.

"Age ain't nothin' but a number."

"And I convinced you to secretly build us two-wheeled death machines."

"God, you're right, you're like Satan," Jacob says in mock horror.

"Yo, Jake, you in there?" Quil asks.

Bella abruptly sits up, starts to pull a tarp over the bikes. "It's cool, it's just my boys," Jacob says.

Quil Ateara and Embry Call enter, both 16. Quil is short, stocky and feisty, with short hair. Embry is tall, thin and laid back, with chin-length black hair. "Hey, Jake," Embry says.

They stop when they see Bella. The two guys share a smile. "Hey. This is Bella. Bella, that's Quil and Embry," Jacob introduces.

"So the bike building story is true," Quil replies.

"Taught him everything he knows," Bella jokes.

"What about the part where you're his girlfriend?"

"Oh, we're just friends."

"Ooh. Burn," Embry calls out.

"I said she's a girl and a friend," Jacob says, scrambling to explain.