flare | JACOB BLACK [2]

~ THIRTY FOUR ~

"But it's not what I want, Jacob."

"Please, don't be angry or upset. I just want to protect you the best way I can."

I had never seen Jacob looked so worried before. It actually began to worry me as well. If he was this worried then maybe I should keep away from the fight. But if he has such a bad feeling, then I don't want him in the fight either.

The best way I could put him at ease right now was to agree with him. "Okay, I'm fine. I'll do it, I'll go up there."

"Good," A small smile appeared.

He was a lot more happy with my compliance than I was. Although, seeing him look so happy almost made me feel the same way. There was a moment between us then, where I just wanted to reach out and kiss him. I could tell he wanted to do the same. Yet, neither of us moved.

"I should go," I said. "We need all the time we can use."

Jacob nodded and went back towards where the guys were. As I watched him leave, I felt a longing towards him. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with him. It was similar to what I felt when we were together.

When he finally walked away, and I was alone, I realized something. Even though weren't officially together, I would be completely lying to myself if I ever said I wasn't in love with Jacob.

...

We were about two hours into training. For some reason, Jasper was being extremely harsh. And it seemed he was only being that way towards me. He would tend to get frustrated with me if I made even the smallest mistake. I assumed he was only being this way because of the short time we had left, so I ignored it.

At one point, it began to become too much. Jasper's frustration was only getting me angry and more careless.

"Avery we've been over this a hundred times!" Jasper shouted. "Never turn your back towards the enemy!"

I could sense Jacob's growing tension. He was now getting angry at Jasper himself.

"He can't just talk to you like that, Avery" Jacob said through the telepathy. The rest of the pack agreed.

I wasn't sure what to do. It would be better if everything remained calm but it didn't seem that's the path we'd take.

"Jasper, stop." Edward said suddenly. He was completely serious. He must've known Jasper was going to say something else.

Jasper flashed him a look of anger but said nothing to him.

No one said anything else after that. And Jasper's never lashed out again. Maybe we all realized this was a serious matter, no emotions could interfere with it.

...

Training ended sooner that normal, given that we needed more rest.

"We'll meet in this exact place tomorrow morning. We need all the extra time we can get to prepare." Alice announced.

We all went our separate ways. Jacob walked near me till he had to part. He wanted to make sure Jasper wouldn't try anything else. It was sweet in a way, but I tried to not let my emotions get the best of me.

After shifting in to human form, I walked to my car. Everyone else had left, I could tell by the silence all around. As I got closer to my car, I noticed a scent, Jasper's scent.

I didn't want to put him on the spot so I didn't call out. Instead I waited. If he had anything he truly needed to say to me then he'd say it.

"Avery?" Jasper called, his footsteps coming towards me.