Torn: Chapter 17

When Jacob ignores Bella in New Moon she develops a friendship with Quil. They become close and then he too makes the change into a werewolf. What will happen in this Quil/Bella/Jacob triangle?

Title: Torn

Rating: T

Penname: Katbug86

Characters: Bella & Quil Jr.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.



An: Just wanted to say thanks to my new beta 'augustblack'. I'm completely excited for her to be helping me with this story! If you like Quil so much you should check out her story 'Letting Go & Moving On' along with its companion story 'Second Chances'. They're rated M for those of you who are young, but her stories are what made me fall in love with Quil in the first place.

Chapter 17: Jake 'n Bells

Jake was outside, pulling me from the cab of my truck, before I even had a chance to come to a complete stop in front of his house. I laughed as he reached across my lap to shift the gear into park and then stood while enveloping me in a bone crushing hug.

"Can't…breathe…Jake," I gasped into his over-heated skin. He immediately released me and I felt the air whooshed back into my lungs.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly.

I smiled up at him to let him know I was ok while giggling at his obvious excitement. It was then that I took in his appearance. He once again had chosen not to wear a shirt. I also noticed he was barefoot; seems to be something of a clothing statement for the guys in the pack.

"Do you always walk around half naked?" I inquired.

"Pretty much," he shrugged.

"Why? Does it bother you?" he asked with a smug grin. Without my permission my cheeks filled with a rosy blush causing him to chuckle. I rolled my eyes at his cocky behavior. I'd missed the ease and humor of being around Jake.

"I've missed that blush," he murmured, stroking the back of his hand across my cheek gently; this of course caused me to blush even further and shift my gaze down towards my feet.

I then felt his hand slip under my chin, forcing my face back up to look him in the eyes. "I've missed you," I nearly whispered. The atmosphere became more serious with our words and I could see my own emotions reflecting back at me in Jake's eyes: sadness, happiness, guilt, and contentment.

We both felt guilty for keeping secrets from the other. I couldn't tell him about the Cullen's even though in some foreign way he already knew. And he couldn't tell me about his life as a werewolf. We were both happy and content to be Jake and Bells once again but sad that we had spent all the time apart.

"I've missed you too Bells," he whispered back.

I felt like I might cry just from the emotion of it all and this time I reached out and hugged him, wrapping my arms as tightly as I could around his waist. It didn't even matter that he was shirtless and my face was pressed into his bare chest, I just wanted to express how much he meant to me and how I never want to be separated from him again. Jake returned the embrace immediately, careful not to crush me this time.

I pulled back to look him in his eyes once more, grinning mischievously. "Come on. I miss my baby," I laughed, trying to lighten things up.

Jake led me around to his make shift garage that stood just out of sight of the house. I immediately spotted my red motorbike leaning against his black one in the back corner.

"I haven't ridden it without you," he admitted from behind me, "Wouldn't be the same."

I nodded in understanding as I stood the bike upright, my happy grin still upon my lips at the prospect of riding it again.

I had to admit that riding my bike without Jake with me really wouldn't be the same. It was something we did together, part of the Jake and Bells relationship.

"Plus running is so much faster," he added.

My head shot up and I looked at him quizzically. "Running?"

I could see the humor written all over his face at my question and the glint of excitement in his eyes as he spoke, "Yeah, as wolves we run really fast. We're pretty fast while in our human form but in wolf form, the speed is incredible. It's one of the perks of this whole ordeal."

"That's sounds awesome Jake." It was awesome. Anything that could make Jake look as happy as he did right now while talking about being a wolf and running at fast speeds was completely awesome.

He has always been such a relatively happy person and good natured. I thought he had lost that when he befriend Sam, which I now know really hadn't had anything to do with Sam. The stern, emotionless mask I had seen him wear on our previous encounters was gone and replaced with the face of the Jake I once knew.

"Think you remember how to ride that thing?" he joked while walking his own bike out of the garage alongside me.

"Pssh, I bet I can ride better than you can," I teased. We both knew this wasn't true but it was fun to joke with him nonetheless.

"Sure, sure," he answered, playing along. "Wanna just ride along our old trails?"

"Sure, sure," I responded with a grin, using the same words he had just spoken. He smiled my favorite Jacob smile in return which only made my own smile broaden. I missed that smile and the comfort it brought.

We climbed on our bikes; I no longer had trouble getting it started, so we started for the dirt paths in the woods we used to take. Our favorite was one that led up to the top cliffs that Quil had taken me diving from.

Riding was just as thrilling and freeing as I remembered. I hadn't been on this bike in over a month but I wasn't having in problems either. In fact, I somehow believed I was able to ride better than I had before.
Jake rode slightly in front of me and I watched him on his bike, riding with ease. I told him once that he was 'sort of beautiful' and I was right. He looked beautiful and graceful while riding, the muscles in his back flexing with every move.

Before long we had made our way through several paths, riding for over an hour. Once we broke the trees for the cliffs, we braked. Jake set his bike against the tree as did I before going to sit on a nearby rock. I settled in next to him, allowing him to wrap an arm around my shoulder as I leaned into his side.

He asked me about school and I told him about maybe going back to work at Newton's sporting goods store. I hadn't worked there since Edward left but I think now would be a good time to see if they'll take me back so I can save money for college. Jake seemed very interested in my plans for college, so I told him about University of Washington and touring the campus over spring break.

He did seem sad that I wouldn't be living in Forks next year but I promised to visit often. I asked him more about pack life and asked how he was handling it all with school and patrols. There was one question though that I had been meaning to ask and I finally wanted an answer.

"What's imprinting?" I inquired, pulling away from him so I could see his face.

He looked shocked at my question and I could see the apprehension to answer in his eyes.

"Embry said that Kim was Jared's imprint. What does that mean?" I elaborated while biting my lip in anticipation. I hoped he would explain because the question had been in my mind for days.

Jake took a deep breath before letting in out and turning towards me. "I don't know how to explain very well, but it's like love at first sight; a soul mates thing. It's when a wolf finds the person their meant to be with and nothing else matters. That person becomes the most important thing in their life and the wolf will do anything for her."

"Wow. So have you imprinted?" This question was slightly harder to ask. Jake and I had only ever been friends but the idea of other girl being his whole world and possibly taking him away from me now that I had just gotten him back made me upset. It was selfish to feel that way because Jake should be happy and I love someone else too.

"No, I haven't," he said flatly, "and I don't think I will."

His tone surprised me but I can't say that him not imprinting didn't make me feel relieved. "Why not?"

This time he seemed very hesitant to answer. He took several calming breaths before locking eyes with me.

"Because I'm already in love with someone to the point I wouldn't believe it possible for me to imprint. And if I did it wouldn't matter. I'd fight it," he stated with conviction.

There were a million thoughts running through my head. I wondered for a moment who Jake could be in love with, who he had already given his heart to. I was once again feeling slight jealousy even though I had absolutely no right to be. But those thoughts all left as quickly as they came when I stared into his eyes. I could see it then; the intense love and adoration. Jacob was telling me that he was in love with me.

He must have seen something in my face that showed I understood what he was trying to tell me. I felt him take my hand before speaking again, "You don't have to say anything Bells. I just wanted you to know and tell you again how sorry I am for breaking my promise. I meant every word I said that night. I will wait for you, for when you are ready."

His words stunned me. My mind was unwilling to process them until a later time and my heart felt like it could beat out of my chest at any moment. I let out a shaky breath before answering him. "There's nothing to be sorry for. Yes, I was upset with how you treated me but now that I know why, it's just a thing of the past I'd rather forget."

"I agree."

"Ready to ride back?" I asked.

He flashed me another one of my smiles, nodding his head, and helping me from my seat. We stepped onto our bikes once again and rode all the way back to Jake's garage. He placed both bikes back in their previous location before leading me into his house. Billy was inside in the kitchen when we entered.

"Hey Bella," he greeted when he saw me.

"Hi Billy."

Jake walked over to the fridge, grabbing a couple soda cans for us while I gathered the stuff to make sandwiches. I asked Billy if he'd like once which he declined.

"How about I ask Charlie to come here after work for dinner?" I heard Billy ask as Jake and I sat down at the table.

"That sounds good. Thanks Billy." As much as I needed to think over Jake's earlier words, I wasn't ready to leave yet. I wanted to spend as much time with my best friend as possible. After that Billy left us to go call Charlie and watch some TV.

After finishing our food Jake and I joined his dad in the living room. I lay on the couch while Jake sat on the floor, leaning back near my head. I wasn't even sure what we were watching…some sports broadcast. I idly reached up to run my fingers through Jake's hair, still surprised at its short length. He let his head drop back onto the cushion with his eyes closed.

I heard a door open and close and voices nearby. My eyes slowly parted open and I realized I must have fallen asleep. Looking next to me I noticed Jake still sitting with his head leaned back on the couch. My hand was still resting in his hair and he had a smile on his face.

"Hey Bells. Have a nice nap?" I heard from the doorway. I looked over to see Charlie standing there, Billy at his side.

"Oh, hey dad. Didn't mean to fall asleep," I told him as I sat up and stretched. My movement seemed to also wake Jake up from his nap. He lifted his head, opening his eyes, and directing his gaze to our fathers.

"Hey Charlie."

"Jake."

I watched as Billy and Charlie shared an amused and knowing glance before heading to the kitchen together. Jake and I followed soon after to help with cooking. I ended up preparing steaks which Jake then grilled outside while I began making the rest of our dinner. Our dads watched from the table, bantering back and forth with one another.

Once everything was ready we sat around the Black's small dining table, carrying on light conversation. Charlie prattled on about work briefly and made plans with Billy to go fishing the following weekend. Jake and I mostly listened but occasionally carried on our own side conversation, laughing at our crazy dads.

Halfway through eating I heard a wolf howling in the distance. My face instantly paled and I turned to look at Jake who had an equal look of concern. He exchanged a glance with Billy, who was reengaging Charlie into conversation so as to distract him, before excusing himself from the table.

I watched as he quickly exited through the back door and I attempted to finish my dinner without worrying about either Quil or Jake. It was a lost cause as my mind wandered over the possibilities that had them in the woods at this very moment, so I put on a fake smile and continued to listen to Charlie and Billy.

Jake had still not returned by the time we left causing my concern to double.