The Diary: Epilogue

Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight

The TV was blaring, Jacob was munching on popcorn, and Bella was writing away in her new journal. Curiosity finally got the better of him.

"You've always got that book with you."

She looked up from the page she was writing on. "Hmn ...?

"I said ... ah, never mind. What are you writing about anyway? I thought you wanted to watch this movie with me."

"I don't know—this just seems so much more important."

"Give me a break. More important than The Avengers?"

"This journal might be a guiding light to my grandchildren some day. I don't want them to make the same stupid mistakes I made at this age."

Jacob grabbed the remote and turned off the TV set. "Wait a minute. By stupid mistakes, do you mean—by choosing me?"

"Gosh, Jake, you're so paranoid. No, I don't mean that. I mean, I could have totally messed up my life if I hadn't gotten a clear view of what was ahead of me. My future could have been a disaster."

"Hey, that's what I said. And, come to think of it, you never did explain why you all of a sudden came to me that day. I know I'm irresistible, and have these wild pheromones and all, but still ... cooome on ..."

She put her pen down and closed her journal. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Bells ... seein' as you're probably the crappiest liar in the state, I'd hafta believe you if you were tellin' the truth."

One finger crooked, motioning him to follow her. "Okay, smarty pants, come with me upstairs."

His head jerked, startled. "Whoa, I know you want me, but isn't your dad gonna be home soon?"

"Down, boy. Don't get your hopes up. I need to show you something, that's all." An eyebrow rose and her tongue lolled out, sweeping sensuously around the perimeter of her lips, making Jacob groan. "And by the way, Charlie's working late tonight."

Jacob followed her like a shadow up the staircase. She stopped before her bedroom closet, and her sweetheart stopped too. He pressed his body closely into her back. His chin perched upon her shoulder and his arms laced around her waist. Bella stretched up and slid the diary out from its designated slot—between Jane Eyre and Ann of Green Gables. She pulled it down, and turned to him, handing over the volume.

"Great ... another book. Jeez, be still my heart. I'm all aquiver."

"It's not just any book, you idiot. It's a diary."

"Big whoop. What? Are there juicy memoirs of a sex maniac in it?"

Tongue clicking, and more tongue clicking. Sometimes he could be so exasperating. She pulled his hands loose and led him to the bed. "Sit down. This is serious. I need to talk to you."

She pushed him onto the mattress as his eyes widened in shock. "God, I love it when you get aggressive. It's so hot."

Sitting beside him, she blurted, "Behave yourself. Now listen to me. Remember the day when I asked you if you believed in time travel?"

"Sure, sure, but what does that have to do about why you changed your mind?"

"I'm getting to that. All right ... here's the thing. I had a visit from someone a few weeks ago. It was a girl from the future." She held his hands, all the while staring into his warm brown eyes. "That girl was me."

Jacob's hands flew up. "Ooookay—this conversation is freakin' weird." He touched his palm to her forehead. "Have you taken your temperature today?"

"No—I'm not sick, and I'm not crazy. Will you just look at the outside of the book?"

He gazed at the right corner of the hard cover and read the inscription. "Isabella Marie Cullen.

"So? It's just some elaborate joke. Anybody with a lot of money to waste could personalize this. I wonder who around here has money to burn. Hmn ..."

Bella stood up, and went to her nightstand. "Oh yeah, well what about this?"

She dangled the object in the air, then tossed it to him.

"What the hell is this little thing?"

"Come outside, and I'll show you."

Dragging Jacob by the hand, she guided him to the back porch. "That's good, right here." She sat on the bottom step, and patted the space beside her. Jacob plunked down, stretching his long legs out in front of him.

"Now open the book."

Jacob gazed at the pages. He had to admit, the writing seemed awfully similar to Bella's. "It still doesn't prove anything."

"Oh, I've got plenty of proof. That little thing in your hand is a key. Here let me demonstrate."

The key changed hands and Bella hesitated. She wondered which holo would be the least traumatic to him, so she turned the pages, and came to the part when she first touched her hind end to the rebuilt motorcycle.

Jacob looked on in awe, as the key hummed, and stated to glow. As the scene burst from the page, Jacob jerked back, nearly hitting the back of his head on the porch steps.

"Holy sh**!" he exclaimed. The roar from the bike was deafening. He felt the dust-filled air as it swirled around him, the grit irritating his eyes; he could even taste it. But what really startled him was the intense emotions that swept over him. He could feel her terror as she took off and his own fright as she failed to navigate the bend in the road. It was like he was there again, dabbing his shirt to her head wound, smelling the blood on her. But now he also experienced the warmth emanating from her heart as she peered up at him with those big doe eyes and said, "Did you know—you're sort of beautiful?"

The motorbikes suddenly vanished, as the holo ended. Jacob was definitely impressed.

"Damn, where can I get one of these? That was freakin' awesome. Do another—do another."

Which one now? She picked the scene of the night he catapulted into her room to apologize for the way he treated her while under Sam's gag rule. They got halfway through it, when she pulled the plug. "I'm sorry, that's just too sad. I don't want either of us to dredge up those memories."

He snatched the key from her fingers, and quickly thumbed through several passages, alighting on their chance meeting in the forest after she was changed.

"No, not that one," she cried.

He ripped the diary away from her, and ran a short distance, to prevent her from stopping him.

"Jacob, please ... give it back to me."

"Ah, c'mon. It can't be that bad. I can take it."

Hunkering down, he placed the key on an icon just like he saw Bella doing.

Maybe she was right. Seeing her all perfect—but awful—in vampire fashion, pierced his heart like a harpoon. The grief and regret rolled in waves off both of them. God it was so painful to watch, but like a horrible scene of an accident, it drew him in, transfixed. He couldn't tear his eyes away. When it finished, he slowly walked to the porch step and sat next to Bella once more.

"I should've listened to you. That was really hard. But it's good to know that I'll never imprint though, right."

Bella squeezed his hand. "Yeah, I guess that worry is gone for good." She smiled at her wolf boy. "Okay, so do you believe me now?"

"Absolutely."

She began to brush off her jeans, preparing to enter the house.

Jacob grabbed her sleeve. "No, wait! Just one more. I promise this'll be the last one."

He tugged on her, pulling her down to the step.

"Last one." There were no doubts in her mind as to which page would set the stage for her own future chapters.

The mountain exploded into the yard, and Jacob was striding toward her, with longing in his eyes. His strong arms embraced her, and their lips met. The weight of the emotions it stirred up, nearly knocked them both to their knees. Jacob saw Bella sharing her life with him in her mind's eye, and was brought to tears. He thought his heart would overflow with the tenderest of feelings. When he trotted away from her, the separation almost killed him.

The last cloud in the pseudo-sky faded and Jacob took the diary from her, closing the cover. He gathered her in his arms, and in a continuation of the scene on the mountain, lifted her, drawing her closer. He pressed his lips to hers, but this time, he didn't have to wonder if she returned his feelings.

Her body conformed to his, her hands cupping the back of his head. His fingers stroked her hair as the kiss deepened; her soft moans flaming his passion. God, he was in heaven, with this angel in his arms. The kiss finally ended, and they strolled together into the house. He had her clasped tightly to his side, her head resting on his shoulder, the diary tucked to her chest.

He couldn't stand it. He had to know what else was in that blasted book of the undead. It was driving him crazy, so he hopped on his bike and sped toward Forks.

"C'mon, Bells ... please ... I gotta know."

"Holy cow, but you're nosey!"

She looked around the kitchen at the preparations for dinner. Bella didn't have time for this.

His arm shot out, pulling her away from the sink. "Look, just leave it. I'll help you with dinner after we read more of the diary. C'mon, c'mon, let's go."

A scowl appeared on her face. "Jacob Black, you are so pushy."

She washed her hands, and minutes later, they found themselves in her room, getting the journal down from the shelf. Jacob laid it on the bed while she took the key from her drawer.

When they opened the book, a look of shock crossed their faces. The pages were empty—totally blank! The only evidence that it once held the entries of a would-be vampire was the curious key, still clutched in her fist.

They looked at each other, and Jacob shrugged. "I guess it's waiting for you to fill in the pages, huh?"

Bella turned the journal over, exposing the front cover. There in the bottom right hand corner, she read: "The Diary of Bella Marie Black."

She wondered if she could refill those pages with her written words, but knew in her heart that there was no hurry. Bella would have a whole lifetime to complete it—a human lifetime with her sweet Jacob by her side. She opened her hand to look once more at the key. What the hell? The key ... it was ... gone!

The End