Waiting

By Lady of Spain

Chapter 1: Heartaches by the Number

Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight

Patience was one of Jacob's many virtues, but it didn't stop her from becoming one of them, did it?It seemed like all he ever did was to sit around, waiting for her to come to her senses. And what did it get him? A broken heart, that's what. He warned her, coaxed her, explained to her, and all to no avail. Didn't she have any sense of self preservation?

Jacob had fallen in love with the girl in the first moment he climbed down out of the SUV, newly parked in her driveway, as he saw her coming to greet him.

Bella appeared amused at what immediately fell out of his mouth, "Hey … I'm Jacob; we used to make mud pies together." Talk about a lame opening, jeez.

Sitting in the truck with her, he went over the ol' rust bucket's idiosyncrasies. Her reaction to his company was ho-hum, but what did he expect? She was a junior, and he, a lowly freshman. They didn't even attend the same school, for cryin' out loud. How would he ever make his dream come true, and reel her straight into his arms?

He didn't get to see much of her, since she apparently had a boyfriend, but said boyfriend left her all of a sudden, and that's when Jacob hoped to fill the vacancy. He became her heart-repairman and best friend, but he couldn't seem to get out of that friendship category.

Bella was a wounded soul and he patiently waited once again for her to realize what was in front of her own two eyes. But it never happened. She just couldn't or wouldn't see him as anything other than a friend.

There was a break in their one-sided relationship when one day, he flipped out, finding himself covered in wolf skin and standing on four, fur-covered paws. He was ordered by Sam Uley, the acting Alpha, to stay away from his friend. From Sam's personal experience, a new shape shifter was volatile, and could possibly injure someone who stood too close by. As it turned out, Jacob did injure his Bella, but emotionally, rather than in any physical way.

"This is goodbye. You can't be around me anymore. So please … go home, and don't come back if you don't wanna get hurt."

Oh god, the look on her face just about killed him. Bella returned to her ancient transport, slogging through the pouring rain. She looked so pathetic. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and say it wasn't true; that he wanted her to stay. He had to make it right.

Jacob skirted the Alpha command, and climbed in Bella's bedroom window that very night.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I was acting like a total jerk, but you gotta know, I would never treat you that way unless I was forced to." He sat on the edge of her mattress, with his head hanging in shame. "I can't explain, but I was under direct orders to get you to leave the rez."

She fisted a handful of his thick hair, complaining about the change in him. "I hate what he's done to you," she hissed. As she lowered her hand, the boy grabbed it, placing it on his cheek. He closed his eyes absorbing the soft feel, and the coolness of her palm.

He looked up at her with soulful eyes, while he went on to refresh the girl's memory about the scary stories he shared with her at First Beach so many months ago. Bella was tired and didn't seem to remember about the spirit warriors, but he hoped that it would eventually come to her.

Jacob was on pins and needles wondering how she would react when she discerned the truth. Unbelievably, Bella was totally okay about his shape-shifter circumstances. Hope once more rose in his heart. Maybe this would open the door to a romantic relationship after all.

For some weird reason, drama seemed to always follow Bella around, and it was no different this day. The wolf boy was doing his duty, patrolling, and headed on home when his shift ended. Billy came into the living room and told him, "Bella was just here. She said she was going over to First Beach."

And so … he trotted to the shore. The girl was nowhere to be seen, but he followed her scent right up to … the cliff. That's where the scent ended. Oh god, no, she couldn't be that stupid could she? The wind was gusting, the clouds were dark and angry, and the water was choppy.

He sailed over the edge, cutting through the icy white caps. With a prayer in his heart, he found her after a terrifying few minutes of panic. He grabbed her with one hand and pulled her to the surface. Laying her down on the pebbled shore, he knelt beside her. She was practically blue, and looking lifeless. Still breathing, she coughed up the salt water that nearly drowned her, and Jacob carried her to his home. After getting her warm, he drove Bella in her truck to her own place.

Jacob could feel it in the air, she was vulnerable now, and for once she wasn't backing away from his advances. And then—and then—just when the tide actually began to turn in his favor, the freakin' leech phoned the house, right while Jacob was attempting to plant a kiss on his beloved Bella. That led to a stupid argument and he stomped out of her home, leaving her standing in the kitchen, with a scowl on her face, and her arms folded across her chest.

Two seconds later, the mystic pixie showed up at the door, and tore his world apart. She drove off with the girl, despite his pleading, to visit the carnivores in Italy.

He ran home in wolf form, and burst into his garage. Leah spotted the light on, and heard the racket as tools and other inanimate objects were pelted against the walls with furious rapidity.

She walked into the open entrance and came up behind him, gently touching his shoulder. "Jake," she uttered as softly as possible. "I know you're hurting, but breaking your tools and wrecking the garage isn't the answer. You might need those tomorrow."

She took a ratchet handle out of his grasp and placed it back on his work bench. Then, taking his hand, led him to the old, overstuffed sofa in the corner. "I know how it is. Love sucks. You can talk to me if you want; I'm an expert at heartbreak."

Jacob slumped back against the cushions. "Why doesn't she love me, Lee? I mean … I bent over backwards for her, and all she thinks about is him—he's not even human, not even alive anymore. And his sister Alice is taking her like a bottle of Chianti to a Volturi dinner party. Bella will probably be the main dish. I don't know if she'll come back alive or in a casket. I don't know what to do anymore."

His head sagged into his cupped palms, and he sighed.

"Join the club. Sam and I were supposed to get married, and then my own cousin who I loved like a sister, walks off with him. Life is so unfair."

Leah's hands rubbed his back and shoulder absentmindedly, as she continued. Jacob raised his head in time to see her staring off into space, her eyes slightly moist. Her voice took on a listless tone. "At least you're spared the pain of being in her head and watching as she makes love to someone else instead of you."

Leah sniffed. "And through it all, I'm trapped, having to live here with the pack, knowing that everyone around me feels sympathy for the poor ol' bitter harpy."

"Maybe the rest of the pack feel that way, but I don't. We're both in love with the unattainable, so I understand you, and I guess in a way, you understand me too."

She drew his head close to her chest, without any resistance on his part, and ran her fingers through his hair. That was so uncharacteristic of her, but it was nice; he needed the touch of a woman, even if it wasn't his Bella. They stayed together in that way for quite a while, until Jacob finally pulled away, saying, "Thanks, Lee. I better let you go. Sue will be looking for you."

Standing, Leah answered, "Any time, Jake. If you need a shoulder to cry on, I'm just down the street."

She sauntered out the door on her way home, and Jacob thought, She's right, Leah's the only one who really understands what I'm going through.

After Leah left, he surprisingly felt a little better for a while. He'd been noticing lately that whenever she was around him, she seemed to be calmer, gentler than the angry she-wolf that the pack all came to know—and with reluctance—tolerate, and her new demeanor was rubbing off on him.

Three days had gone by, and the knots were increasingly tightening in his stomach. On the fourth day, Charlie had called his dad. Bella was home, but she was accompanied by that creepy bloodsucker.

How could she? He left her dead inside, and now she was back with the louse? To make matters worse, Edward frowned on her visiting La Push—like he had any say in the matter. What …? Did he think he owned her? He sure acted like it.

Why the hell didn't the big twinkie stay in sunny Italy, or move away and sparkle somewhere else?

Walking on the beach, he came across Leah, sitting near the water's edge, her knees pulled up to her chin, her eyes focused on the waves washing up on the shore. "Mind if I join you?"

Dark eyes turned up to look at him, as he towered over her. "I don't mind, if you don't mind."

Jacob plopped down next to her. They sat side by side quietly for several minutes. Jacob began throwing stones into the ocean, slowly at first, then faster and faster in an agitated manner.

"I haven't seen her, Lee. It's been three weeks. That freakin' leech has his hooks so deep into her … He hates it when she visits, and she knows that. It makes her feel guilty, so she stays away as long as she can. The thing is—she misses me as much as I miss her." He flung another rock as hard as he could. "Sh** … Oh, sorry."

Leah laughed softly. "Hey, it's me. Did you forget who you're sitting next to? You don't need to apologize for your French in front of me. I can cuss with the best of them."

Jacob leaned back on his elbows, gazing up at the sky. Turning his head in her direction, he asked, "What're you doin' here anyway?"

"Just waiting."

"Waiting?"

"Yeah, waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

"Not what, stupid—who?"

"Should I ask who you're waiting for?"

"That's none of your business."

She saw one of his eyebrows shoot up. "Oh, so you're afraid I might get jealous, huh?"

"One can only hope,' she muttered under her breath.

"Well, whoever he is, he's gotta pass my inspection. And he better treat you right too, or he'll havta answer to me. Come to think of it, there's no one out there worthy of you. You're one of a kind, girl."

Jacob pulled Leah to her feet, brushed the sand from her jeans and walked her home. After a big hug, he kissed her cheek, then whistling, sauntered to his own little red house.