Felicity
The day after the funeral, I woke up with a headache. I groaned a little as I rolled over in my bed, glancing at the clock. It was my last day before school went back in session from spring break, and since I'd traded shifts to get yesterday off, I had to work a double shift today.
A glass of water, two little tablets, and a note on the bedside table caught my eye.
I couldn't help the smile itching at my lips as I plucked up the note to read:
Felicity—
Hope you got some rest. You really needed it. Thanks for coming with us yesterday, it meant a lot. And I really ended up having a great time. Take the aspirin before you even get out of bed - it'll help.
Have a good day. See you soon.
—J
Though it wasn't a glowing letter of adoration, I was practically beaming by the time I finished reading anyway. Jacob was sweet. And kind. And thoughtful.
And...holy crap, was I falling for him?
No. I couldn't be. I was just very fond of my new great friend. There was no way it could be anything more than that. Not yet. We hadn't even been friends that long, and I was newly divorced.
So. Just friends. It was decided—no, it was reality. Now I needed to get ready for work and stop thinking so hard about Jacob freaking Black.
***
Later that night as I was nearing the end of my second shift, Paul walked in. "Hey, doll," he said, striding over to my register without a care in the world—not that it mattered since our one customer was currently flirting with my co-worker Tyler Crowley.
"Paulie," I greeted him.
He rolled his eyes. "That nickname. Whatever."
I snickered. "What did I do to earn the honor of this visit?"
Paul smiled, lifting his chin. "Now that's more like it. I'm here to make sure you get food and drive you home." He glanced around. "It's time for you to blow this hellhole, right?"
"Um..." I mumbled, peeking over at where Tyler was very not focused on working. "I'm not sure."
"You can go, Felicity," the manager, Adam, said as he walked over from the direction of the office. "Tyler is still here for another hour; he's got it covered." Then he walked over to presumably set Tyler back on task.
I was beyond caring what was going on with Tyler at that point, so I just told Paul I'd be right back and went to collect my stuff. In the car a few minutes later, Paul asked, "Is that Tyler guy always like that?"
My attention had been on the road ahead of us, even though I'd let Paul drive my car since I was so tired, but I raised my brows anyway. "What?"
"That guy you work with. Tyler. He always an ass who doesn't carry his weight? And for that matter, does he ever bother you?"
I rolled my eyes. "Work is fine, Paul. If Tyler gets off task, the managers have a word with him. Besides, it's not like I work with him all the time."
"Okay." Paul nodded. "And what about the other half of my question? Does he bother you?"
"No," I answered immediately, and it was the truth. He'd been annoying when I was with Elijah, but ever since we'd broken up Tyler hadn't given me a second glance—something for which I was grateful. Tyler was the kind of guy who wanted what he couldn't have. It was what made him and Mike Newton such great buds. They bonded over that crap.
"Doll—" Paul started.
"Paul," I cut him off sharply, not in the mood for this in the slightest. "I appreciate that you're trying to look out for me, but I'm being honest. Tyler doesn't bother me in any way other than not pulling his weight at work sometimes, which I already told you gets handled by the managers. Now let's leave it at that and get some freaking McDonald's already."
Paul blinked out the windshield, saying nothing for a moment. Then, "Alright, doll. Whatever you want. Just let me know if that changes, yeah?"
I sighed. "Sure, Paul. Now food. Please."
He smiled. "A woman after my own heart."
I couldn't help but smile too. "Shut. Up."
A moment later, we pulled into the McDonald's drive-thru, one car ahead of us. "I need you to agree to something real quick, no questions asked," Paul said seriously as we waited for our turn.
Turning to face him, I saw his eyes were on me. "What is it?"
"Let Jacob drive you to and from school tomorrow."
I blinked, not expecting those to be the words that came out of his mouth. "What? Why?"
He shook his head. "No questions. Not now, anyway. Hopefully there will be some sort of explanation soon..." He paused. "But will you let him drive you?"
The expression on Paul's face was almost pleading. Whatever the reason behind his request was, it was important. So I nodded. "Okay." The car in front of us advanced to the window. "It's our turn."
Paul smiled. "Perfect. Time for a dozen Big Macs."
I laughed because I had no doubt he was serious, but in the back of my mind I was highly curious about whatever could be going on to require Jacob to give me a ride to school. Apparently I'd have to wait until they were willing to share, though, which was fine.
I could be patient.
***
The next morning, as agreed, I let Jacob drive me to school. We were both still tired so neither of us said much, but we sat in companionable silence. And then at the end of the school day, as promised, Jacob was in the student lot waiting for me.
"Hey," he said, clearly more alert than he had been that morning.
"Hey," I replied with a smile.
"So," he started, his tone less than eager. "We need to make a stop real quick."
"Okay..." I said hesitantly, unsure why he was looking so unenthused.
He sighed. "It's not a conversation I want to have. But I need to get it over with, and then maybe we can hang out?"
"Sure," I said easily, liking the prospect of spending more time with Jacob—because we were friends, not because I was falling for him. "Who do you need to talk to?"
Jacob frowned, crinkling his nose in displeasure. "Bella." He pulled over on the side of a road lined with trees. "I'll try to be quick, but I'll need you to wait here."
I stared at him. He wanted me to sit in the car by myself while he had a chat with Bella? My gut tightened at the idea—at the thought of him speaking with Bella at all—but I didn't want to be That Girl. I didn't want to be clingy and whiny, turning something simply into a big deal—especially when I had no real claim on Jacob anyway. We were just friends.
So instead of expressing my distaste, I let it simmer in my stomach as I said, "Okay."
He released an audible breath. Apparently he'd expected me to react the way I'd actually wanted to. "You're awesome," he told me. "I'll make this as quick as possible, I promise."
"Okay," I repeated, because what else could I say?
Jacob's lips lifted in a soft smile as he stared at me. Before he could act on whatever that intense look was about, his head snapped up to look out his window. I followed his gaze and saw nothing, but I guessed it was a sign he was about to go.
I settled into my seat, ready to wait for him to return—maybe then he'd let me in on what the hell was going on.
***
Jacob
The last thing I wanted was to leave Felicity alone in the car to have a talk with Bella and her Cullen. I'd mean it when I told her to choose—she'd made the wrong decision and, honestly, I wasn't too broken up over it. I had Felicity now. And, man, no one in the world was better for me than her.
"I'll be just a minute," I promised Felicity as I slid out of the car.
"Alright," she said, not looking too at ease with the situation. Well, that made two of us.
But I had to get this over with so I could come back to her, so I went to the place I'd designated to Cullen in my mind for them to meet me—a little ways into the woods; enough to have privacy but not enough to be too far away from Felicity.
Bella was already there, Cullen's arm around her shoulders as they waited. When I entered the small clearing, he wasted no time to say, "You can tell Sam the message has been received."
He'd pulled it from my head. Of course. I told him anyway, "The treaty still stands. You stay on your land and don't bite any humans and we'll mind our own business. However," I added, "we won't physically be able to stick to the reservation. We won't bother you guys, but we need to spend some time in Forks." I'd managed to keep this secret from Bella so far, no reason to draw attention now. Though surely Edward could see all about it in my fucking head.
"I can," he confirmed. "Why the secrets?"
I shrugged. "I'm loyal to my pack."
"Wait," Bella said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Are you saying you're amending the treaty the Quileutes have had with the Cullens for decades because you want to spend time in Forks with your rebound?"
In that moment two things happened—first, it really, truly hit me how selfish and petty Bella could be when things didn't go exactly her way, and second, a snarl ripped out of my throat as my fists clenched in anger at the insult to my imprint. Rebound? She fucking called Felicity my rebound. As if I even needed a rebound from Bella. The idea was laughable.
"Hey," Edward snapped. "Careful with those thoughts, mutt."
I barked out a laugh that was void of humor. "Whatever, leech. Just don't bother us and we won't bother you." I met his eyes, refusing to directly give his girlfriend anymore of my time. "And keep your leechlover away from us, too. She's not wanted on the rez any longer."
Still, I refused to look at her but her voice was stunned as she said, "What? Jake, don't—"
The Cullen cut her off. "Understood. Quietly, he murmured to her, "Your comments about his...girl were too much."
I really didn't want to hear their exchange where he hashed all this shit out to her. Especially if he planned to tell her the secret we'd been trying to keep close to the pack—imprinting was too important to take chances with. So I said, "We've agreed. Now I'm leaving." And then I walked away, trying to control my breathing so I could calm down—but it wasn't until I exited the trees and saw Felicity waiting for me in the car that I could pull in a deep, full breath.
Once I'd climbed into the car, I sat there for a moment, just breathing.
"You okay?" Felicity asked quietly, carefully.
Turning to face her, I gave a small smile. "Yeah. They just...irritate the hell out of me." I forced a short laugh.
Felicity's face remained solemn. "I'm sorry she's turning out to be such a terrible friend for you."
"Honestly, that's not what bothers me," I told her. "I'm glad I have you now."
"I'm glad too, but still. It sucks to lose a friend. I'm sorry you have to go through that." The way her eyes stared into mine made it impossible to miss the sincerity in her words.
Shit, she was perfect. And I was...me. How was I supposed to be enough to match that? Hell, I was over here making her wait in the damn car while I pursued secret stuff in the woods. I wasn't even being anything close to honest with her.
As I stared into her eyes, I knew it. I wasn't looking forward to however it would go, but I knew it was time. So I asked, "Would you want to come to a bonfire with me and the guys tomorrow night?"
Felicity blinked, apparently not expecting the suddeninvitation. But she recovered after only a moment and nodded, not having anyidea that what she was agreeing to would change her entire view on the world."Sure. I'd love to."