Moonrise || Harry Potter Twilight Crossover || FanFiction

Chapter Thirty-Three: Bella's POV

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE:

Bella's POV:

It was hot, being pressed up against Jacob, and I didn't mean in the sexy/attractive way. I meant it in the sweltering 'oh my god I'm actually sweating, how freaking high is his temperature?' way.

"How can you be wearing a jacket?" I groaned, wiping my forehead with the back of my hand.

"I don't really feel it." Jacob shrugged.

"How come you even need one?" I grumble, wishing Hermione had cast a cooling charm on me instead.

"I don't. I brought this for you, just in case you weren't prepared." He looked at my jacket almost as if he was disappointed that I was. "I don't like the way the weather feels. It's making me edgy. Notice how we haven't seen any animals?"

"Um, not really." I told him and he snorted.

"I guess you wouldn't. Your senses are too dull." I made a face but let that pass.

"Alice was worried about the storm too." I told him instead. I'm impressed when he doesn't even make a face at the mention of her name. Instead he just looks thoughtful.

"It takes a lot to silence the forest this way. You sure picked a real hell of a night for a camping trip."

"It wasn't exactly my idea." I sighed.

The forest floor began to rise more and more steeply, though it didn't slow Jacob down. Instead he leapt easily from rock to rock, not seeming to need his hands at all. His perfect balance simultaneously freaked me out and reminded me of a mountain goat.

"So it's been a while since you came down to La Push," he commented.

"I've been busy." I told him, "the whole army of newborn vampires thing has kind of been weighing down, plus finals and graduation and... other things." Namely the whole wedding debacle. Which I still hadn't told Jacob about and was absolutely planning on putting off for as long as I possibly could.

Jacob was silent for a few minutes, before he spokes up again. "Bella... besides my apology, we never really spoke about... the other day. About what happened." I stiffened in his arms.

Ah. The kiss. The declaration.

I didn't really want to have this conversation under the present conditions- him cradling me against his chest with his too-warm arms. Hell, I didn't really want to have this conversation period.

"Have you... have you thought about what I said? At all?" He asked when I stayed silent.

"A bit. But not in the way you're thinking." I replied, my voice soft.

"A smart person looks at all sides of a decision." He told me, now carefully avoiding my glance.

"I have."

"Bella..." Jacob paused, and sighed. "I think... I want you to be honest with me. Not defensive, not trying to protect my feelings, just completely and utterly honest. Do I have a chance?"

I closed my eyes and felt a tear slide down my cheek. "I'm sorry." I whispered, because I was. I was sorry. "I love you, Jake, but I'm not in love with you."

Jacob took a deep, shuddering breath. "I'm not going to stop fighting for you Bella." He told me.

"I know." I answered.

"I'm never going to give up."

"I know." I repeated.

There was a long pause, where I rested my head against Jake's chest and listened to his heartbeat, the steady thump, thump, thump.