(Bella POV)
Wednesday afternoon found me in front of my laptop looking through the online courses available from the University of Washington. I was trying to see if anything in particular jumped out at me since I still couldn’t decide what kind of degree I wanted to pursue.
Jacob had been true to his word, bringing Embry over on Monday night after they were done patrolling. Embry had been patient and very friendly, showing me how to search for colleges in the area. He even got me logged on to the University of Washington when I said that was one of the colleges that I was interested in. Once on the site, he showed me where to go look for online courses and tried to explain some of the other things that I could learn while browsing their site.
Embry didn’t know all there was to know about college, but he knew his way around a computer, so that was a start at least. The stuff he knew did help me because I had found plenty of information that could help me become a future college student. I soon learned how to register, search for both online and on-site classes, as well as getting money for college. I was glad that Embry had left his phone number with me just in case I got stuck on my computer again. Plus, he said he’d help me figure out how to navigate the online classes, assignments, and other stuff when it came time to do that.
By the time Embry and Jacob had left that night, I had breathed a sigh of relief. Both for Embry’s much needed help and for the fact that Jacob had left with him. The whole time the three of us had been working on the computer, Jacob had found ways to touch me or be close to me. It didn’t help that the conversation we’d had in his garage had never strayed far from my mind.
The idea that his wolf was a huge factor in his need to be more than just my best friend boggled my mind. He had said that his wolf wouldn’t like it if I left him, that he would hurt. It had sounded so much like an imprint, but yet it wasn’t. I had no idea what to make of it.
I knew that the reason Jacob had been very eager to get me set up to take courses online wasn’t just to help me further my education. I knew it was really because he wanted to keep me close so his wolf wouldn’t hurt. I knew that despite my hesitation and confusion that Jacob was going to do everything he could think of to convince me that no imprint would ever keep him from loving me.
Even though I hadn’t seen him since Monday night, we had texted and talked on the phone a couple of times. He had been very friendly and flirty, but I was much more reserved, guarding my heart. I knew he didn’t like that I kept trying to keep things platonic between us, but I just couldn’t let go of my fears yet.
Sighing, I tried once more to concentrate on what I was doing because I really wanted to make some kind of decision soon. Part of that reason was because yesterday I had found out that I could actually register at Forks Peninsula College in the fall instead of having to wait a year or more like I originally thought. If I chose to go there first, I could then transfer my credits to the University of Washington after two years.
Now I had two options to chose from. Two years at the community college which I could afford now, then transfer to UDub later, or work for a couple of years before starting college at all.
Ten minutes later I was still scrolling through college courses when my phone rang. I almost didn’t answer it because I was so engrossed with my research, but when I noticed it was Alice, I picked it up.
“Hi, Alice.”
“Bella! We got the pictures you sent of your trip to Florida! Esme is so glad that you had a great time with your mom! And the story of how Charlie almost didn’t let Jacob go was so funny! We’re all glad you both got to go!”
“Thanks, it was good to see mom again, even for a weekend.”
“But it was a good mini-vacation, right?”
“Yep. Now it’s back to finishing what’s left of the school year and making college plans.”
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “Have you made any plans yet?”
“Well, I actually just started looking this week.” She listened as I filled her in on how Embry helped with online courses and told her my options for college so far.
“Hm, so you’re still not certain that you’re going to start this fall then?”
“Not yet.”
“Is it just because you were late to apply or is there really something more?”
I sighed. “I think I just want to work this year for a bit of spending money, you know? My parents have agreed to help me with tuition and other expenses, but I want to be a bit more independent.”
“Well, I may just have an idea that will help with your independence!” I waited for Alice to continue, hoping that whatever she came up with wasn’t anywhere near as outlandish as her previous interferences in my life had been. “I’ve talked to Carlisle and Jasper, and they’ve agreed this could work so long as we have talked to the Quileutes about it. You see, Jasper and I want to move back into the house there! It’ll just be the two of us this time and we’ll both be going to college too, so if you wanted to, you could move in with us and become our roommate!”
“What!” I exclaimed. “Alice, while I think it would be nice to have my friend close by, I don’t think it’s a good idea to tempt Jasper by living with you!”
She tsked, “Oh please Bella! You have been hanging out with the wolves so much now which means you probably stink like them now. Jasper won’t be enticed by that smell at all! Plus, we are thinking of moving back at the beginning of June, which will give me just enough time to throw you a graduation party there!”
I groaned. “Alice!”
She laughed. “Oh come on Bella! It’ll be fun! You can invite all of your friends, including the wolves! Jasper and I don’t intend to leave them out of any of our plans with you, they are a part of your life after all! Plus, Jasper has admitted that he is quite fascinated by the wolves and how they work so well together as a pack.”
When I remained quiet, she reiterated. “Think about it Bella! You know Charlie will let you move in with me because he likes me, so that’s good. What’s even better is that Carlisle has agreed that the more Jacob and the pack spend in the house spreading their scent, the more it’ll prevent Jasper from wanting to snack on you. Honestly though, he’s really been working more on his resistance to human blood. He really wants to do this Bella, for you and for me!”
I knew Jasper never intentionally meant to hurt me. I had never blamed him for what happened at my birthday party and I believed Alice when she said he was really working on it. I believed Jasper was improving and he would do anything to make Alice happy, but that wasn’t what was making me hesitate.
As for Charlie, I didn’t think it would be that hard to convince him to let me move in with Alice since it also meant I would still be close to him. No, the one hurdle I knew that would be almost impossible to overcome was the pack, but most especially Jacob. Despite the fact that Jacob liked Alice, I knew he still had a problem with letting me anywhere near any vampire, friendly or not.
Yet even with that hesitation, I found myself agreeing to think about it and promised to get back to her soon. We ended our conversation with her telling me that only Carlisle and Esme would be coming with her and Jasper to see me graduate, and to help reassure all of us that having Alice and Jasper in Forks again wasn’t a bad idea.
I found myself still mulling over that conversation later that night, making it impossible for me to read the book that I was so close to finishing. I must have read the same paragraph three times when my phone rang with the chime that told me it was Angela was calling.
When I answered it, she asked how my college hunt was going, so I got her up to speed on Embry’s help and the options I had come up with. I didn’t tell her about Alice’s news because that was still up in the air. We continued to talk about college before our conversation turned to school and the latest happenings. Of course that meant once again Angela had to bring up prom.
“Please go Bella! I really need a dress-shopping partner and you were the best last year! There’s no one else that I want to go with who won’t drive me crazy. You don’t even have to dance at the prom, just go and hang out with me.”
I couldn’t help but smile at her reminder of our outing last year for dresses. She did have a point. The two of us were the least dramatic of our friends, so we would probably keep each other calm and on track. Even so, I found that I had fun with her on those times I’ve spent with her this year.
Before she could plead again, I said, “Okay, I’ll think about it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Yay! Just don’t take too long or we won’t be able to shop for a dress.”
I laughed. “I won’t. I promise.”
“Okay, I’ll let you go then since I have to finish a bit of homework before bed.”
“See you at school then.”
After Angela said bye, I hung up my phone only to hear a deep voice say, “Why don’t you want to go to your prom?”
(Jacob POV)
After my patrol, I’d decided to stop at Bella’s house not only to see how her college search was going, but to also remind her that my wolf and I were still set on having her as our mate instead of a stupid imprint. She no longer kept her window open, but I was flexible enough to climb the tree, pry the window open, then crawl inside without making a sound.
It wasn’t surprising that she didn’t realize I’d caught the end of her conversation with Angela until I asked her why she didn’t want to go to the prom. She spun around and clutched her cell phone to her chest with a gasp before exclaiming, “Jacob! You scared me! How did you get in here?”
I lifted an eyebrow in amusement as I jerked my thumb towards the window. “I climbed in the window, as usual.”
She frowned. “It was closed!”
Shrugging, I drawled. “At least it wasn’t locked. It was easy to climb the tree and open it.”
She just stared at me for a moment before shaking her head. “What are you doing here anyway, shouldn’t you be at home getting ready for school tomorrow?”
“Just thought I’d drop in to see you before I headed home.” I paused to make sure she was looking at me. “So, why don’t you want to go to your prom?”
She bit her bottom lip as her gaze shifted away from mine. Trying not to groan in sexual frustration, I took her hand and pulled her to sit next to me on the edge of her bed. “Come on, Bells, just tell me why. Is it because of last year’s…”
She shook her head, “No, I just don’t really like going to those things anyway. I didn’t even want to go last year, but Edward insisted then Alice got involved and, well you know the rest.”
I chuckled as I ran my thumb over the back of her hand. “Yeah, but this year would be different. You could wear what you want and I’d be your date.”
“Jake…”
I squeezed her hand to keep her from denying me. “Bells, think about it. It’s your Senior Prom. I promise it’ll be fun! You, me, Angela, and Ben! People you actually like!”
She rolled her eyes at that, but I could see the smile she was trying to hide. I knew I almost had her, so I placed a hand beneath her chin to tilt her head until her eyes met mine then spoke to her in the low tone I knew would get her attention. “Bella Swan, will you go to the prom with me?”
There was a soft intake of breath as her pupils dilated in response. I let my thumb brush the softness of her bottom lip and felt the quiver it produced. Refusing to take my gaze from hers, I waited patiently for her answer.
Finally she swallowed before whispering, “Can I...can I think about it for a few days?”
I leaned closer to her and tried not to show how much it hurt to hear the hesitance in her voice or the way she subtly shifted away from me. “Are you sure about that?”
“Y-y-yes,” came her stuttered response. “Um, yeah.”
I sighed as I let go of her, watching as she put more space between us again. My wolf whined at the way she kept trying to put distance between us when we had been certain she had gotten the message from our conversation in the garage. We wanted nothing more than to hold her close like we used to. To breath in her scent and leave our scent on her skin.
If only she would let us get closer to her, let us touch her the way we wanted to, maybe then she would understand how much we craved her.
I took a deep breath to regain control of my wolf before deciding to change the subject. “So, how’s the college search going?”
She smiled as she moved towards her laptop on her desk. “It’s actually good! I found out that I can go to Peninsula College this fall if I wanted to. Just to take undergrad courses, then later I can transfer to UDub, but I’m still thinking of just working for a year.”
I nodded. “Okay, well, do you know what you want to major in yet?”
She shook her head. “Not yet, but I’m not worried about that. I know I have some time to decide.”
I watched her fingers fiddle with the papers on her desk for a moment before I said, “Okay, so that’s not what’s worrying you, what is then?”
She did her best to give me a blank look. “Huh?”
I narrowed my eyes. “I know something is worrying you.”
She sighed. “Jacob, really!”
I got to my feet and tilted my head to the side. “Do I have to remind you that I can smell you?”
She flinched at that. “I really wish you wouldn’t.”
“Can’t help it, you’re my girl, so my wolf and I are especially tuned in to you.”
She turned away from me while running her hands through her hair in aggravation. She made a cute little growling noise, but I ignored it because I wanted answers. “Well?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Bells, I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s bothering you. Even if you aren’t ready to be more than my friend, I’m still your best friend so tell me…”
She whirled around and spit out, “You, okay! I’m worried about you!”
I gaped at her. “What?”
With a resigned sigh, she continued. “Alice called today, she said she’s coming here with Jasper in June to throw me a graduation party.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“At the Cullen house.”
Something told me that still wasn’t it. “And?”
“And they’re going to ask if they can move back into the house to go to college with me. They want me to be their roommate.”
I went ramrod stiff at that. Fuck. “No.”
She pursed her lips. “Can you at least let me tell you everything before you jump to conclusions?”
I shook my head. “You can’t move in with vampires, Bella. Especially with one that tried to kill you!”
“Alice says he’s been working on it! In fact, Carlisle wants to give the pack permission to go into the house, to spread your scents. You’re going to be welcome to come and go as you please. If your scent is all over there, Jasper won’t want to get near me at all!”
I was still shaking my head, but that wasn’t the only part of my body shaking at that point. The idea of Bella being anywhere near those bloodsucking leeches made my wolf want to burst out and go hunting for them.
“Think about it Jacob! Alice said they want the pack and you to be a part of our lives! They want to include you in everything! Can you imagine? If I lived with them, you wouldn’t have to sneak into my window anymore! You could even stay the night!”
Oh that’s a low blow, Bells! She wouldn’t even let me get close to her now, but man was that a tempting thought.
“Not fair, Bells!” I growled.
“I haven’t made up my mind yet, but it’s something I want to think about.”
I shook my head again. “I’m not saying Alice’s mate is a bad person, but he tried to kill you! It’s hard for my wolf to get past that! Do you really think we could handle having you so close to him or the rest of them?”
“Carlisle and Esme are coming to see me graduate only, but Alice and Jasper will be the only two staying. No one else is going to live there!”
I gritted my teeth. “It’s a bad idea. The pack would never go for it.”
She sighed, “Well Carlisle is going to get in touch with Sam, so we’ll see.”
I shook some more, unable to keep my hands from curling into fists. My wolf was raging inside of me and I was fast losing control of him. I could tell that Bella was seriously considering moving in with them, but my wolf was having none of it.
I knew if we had all been human, none of this would be a problem. I would have jumped at the chance to have Bella living someplace where we could be alone without interruptions. While my wolf side could only see the danger of living with leeches, my human side understood why Bella would want the freedom.
Just as I was about to try to explain what was going on in my head, a distant howl caught my attention. I sprang to the window, opening it in time to hear an answering howl.
“What is it?” asked Bella from behind me.
“Someone’s found a leech trail.” I began to crawl out of the window, but turned back to look at her. “We’ll talk about this some more later, but I’ve got to go.”
She nodded as I leaped from the window and ran towards the trees. With our conversation still in my mind, my wolf was itching to get out. Tonight, we hoped we finally had a chance to sink our teeth into one of those fucking leeches.
TBC...
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