Ash Over Seas

Jacob and I had spent the remainder of the afternoon curled up on his couch as I answered all his questions about my condition. His hands had shook, and his eyes had fogged but he remained strong through the entire thing, fiercely swearing to me that he would never leave my side and that he would be there for anything I needed. I had asked him nearly a million more times if he was sure this was what he wanted, and each time he answered with a kiss. I think by the end of the evening I was just looking for excuses for him to kiss me.

When he felt he’d learned enough, he’d agreed to take me home and by the time I’d stepped through my front door, it was far past dark, and Atticus had swept into the front room, immediately scolding me for disregarding him once again.

The contented and shy look on my face was enough to halt him immediately as his wary eyes appraised my body language. Something unrecognizable flickered across his face and his arms folded casually across his chest.

“What’s got into you?” he asked, a sly smirk working its way onto his lips. I had a feeling he already knew, and was simply toying with me.

I avoided his eyes as I fumbled around with my school things, biting my lip whilst my cheeks flushed with color. I made my way into the kitchen, quickly filling a glass under the faucet and gulping down its contents in hopes of finding a distraction.

“It’s nothing,” I muttered, turning redder still until my brother’s hand reached out to grip my face calmly, forcing me to look at him as he took my glass and placed it on the counter.

“It’s that shifter boy, isn’t it?” he asked, his smirk still taunting me and I chewed my lip, hesitating before I answered.

“You're not still angry?” I asked quietly, my eyes searching his face hopefully.

The boy’s nose wrinkled briefly in distaste but he played it off, his golden eyes returning to their usual serious and cold appearance as he looked down at me. His midnight hair swept gracefully across his forehead and I fought the urge to brush it away from his eyes.

“You're happy?” he asked, his eyes burning into me like fire.

“Yes,” I breathed, biting down on my lip to hide the smile breaking through.

My brother simply watched me a moment more, then nodded once, releasing my face from his grasp before wandering up to his room and out of sight.

For the rest of the evening I couldn’t contain the warmth that was radiating from my core. A small smile seemed to be plastered to my face and my pale skin was already warming a little as my blood pumped eagerly through my veins. I went to bed that night feeling warmer than I had in months. I realized now how stupid I was to deny my feelings so long. I tried not to regret the fact that I could have been this happy months ago.

The next morning, Jacob had insisted that he drive me to school, and had arrived promptly at 7 am in his small red Rabbit, politely knocking on my door as if it were a date. I had ushered him from the house, bidding a quick goodbye to my skeptical father, before sliding into the cab and speeding off toward La Push.

Nervous butterflies began to swarm in my stomach as we pulled into the parking lot and I fiddled with my fingers.

“Cole? Everything okay?” Jake asked as he took my hand in his, rubbing his thumb over it soothingly.

“I… yeah, it’s just going to be weird,” I chuckled quietly as his warmth seeped through my chilled skin and eased my nerves. “Everyone’s going to stare at us if we’re together.”

Jake’s face split into a lighthearted grin and he leaned forward to peck my lips.

“Let them stare, then,” he said smoothly. “There’s no way I’m hiding you. I’ve worked too long for this.”

I nodded, knowing I had no right to deny him anything after all I’d put him through.

A light blush crept across my cheeks as I slung my bag over my shoulder and climbed from the small red car. As soon as we met up again, Jake slung his large arm over my shoulders and pulled me close against his side. A shiver of pleasure passed through my bones as his warmth kept the icy wind at bay.

As expected, nearly every head turned to glance at us in surprise as we walked through the hallways.

“Bloody small towns,” I muttered and I felt the vibrations against my shoulder as Jake’s chest rumbled with laughter.

“You know you love it,” he breathed, stopping abruptly to pull me into a brief but loving kiss. I smiled into it; my eyes alight as he pulled away.

“Hot damn!” a loud voice cheered from ahead of us and we turned to find Jared and Embry strolling toward us, huge smiles plastered on their faces.

“It’s about time!” Jared beamed as he clapped Jake on the back, and then turned to Embry. “I believe you owe me a debt?”

The lankier boy muttered a few choice words before fishing into his pocket to pull out a ten-dollar bill. He grudgingly slapped it into Jared’s waiting hand and sighed.

“Dude, you bet against us getting together?” Jacob asked, clearly offended as his hands balled into fists. My hand slid down his arm, gently massaging it and feeling his tension ease slightly.

“Nah,” Embry sighed. “My time frame was up after next week, I figured next Wednesday, by the latest. But I guess you two finally getting together is worth passing up a ten, even if it is to this tool.”

“Hey, man, don’t be hatin’,” Jared smirked as he folded the bill and put it away. “So, to what do we owe this happy little ending?”

My smile faltered slightly and I felt my heart skip an unpleasant beat in my chest.

“Kim… didn’t tell you?” I asked quietly, my brain finally registering that the girl was absent from Jared’s side.

The boy’s brow knitted as he tilted his head. “No… she’s got a meeting with her advisor, I haven’t seen her yet…. What’s going on?”

My nose stung a little, and indication of coming tears, and I bit down hard on my lip. Jake immediately gathered gently me into his arms, pressing his cheek to my hair as his thumb rubbed soothingly along my back.

“Do you… want me to…?” he trailed off softly and I breathed deeply, inhaling his familiar scent and feeling my muscles relax slightly.

“Yeah, it’s okay,” I muttered as I pulled back and flashed him a thankful grimace.

The tall boy pulled me in so I was nestled under his shoulder and we turned back to his perplexed companions. “I’ll talk to you guys tonight on patrol,” he assured them.

The two nodded, watching me with concern as the halls became more crowded and students started filing off to their classes.

“We should probably get going,” Jake sighed as he proceeded to wave goodbye to Jared and walk me to Calculus, never once releasing me until we reached the classroom. His hand slid down to my own, encasing it in his large grip.

“What are we going to do about seating?” I asked quietly, my eyes flitting over the room and landing on my usual seatmate.

Kim looked up from our table and her eyes widened in sheer delight as she saw my hand wrapped in Jake’s. I flashed her a small smile as she pushed back from the table and danced over to us excitedly.

“You did it!” she breathed as she threw her arms around me exaggeratedly. “You told him everything?”

I nodded, and over the girl’s shoulder, my eyes landed on Cammie, who was also sitting in her usual seat and eyeing us with a quiet expression of shock and fury.

“Here, you two go take our table,” Kim urged me, flashing us a wink as she clued in on Cammie’s disgusted expression.

“Huh? Oh, Kim, no, I can’t put you through that!” I breathed as I watched the angry girl’s lips pressing into a hard line as she tried to pretend she hadn’t noticed us.

“Don’t worry about it,” the pretty girl beamed as she nudged us toward the table. “I’ll have plenty of fun with it. It’ll be priceless. I’ve been waiting for this day all year.”

I chuckled softly, allowing her to direct us to the table and folding myself comfortably in the chair next to Jake. I could hear Cammie’s indignant scoffs from behind us and could practically feel her eyes burning holes in our backs. Jake simply smiled and rested his hand on my knee under the table, tracing distracting circles on my thigh as a powdery snow began to fall outside the window.

But of course, no day can go completely without confrontation, and as I walked serenely into Photo, I wasn’t surprised at the look of contempt I received from my bitter classmate.

“What the fuck is going on between you two anyway?” Cammie sneered quietly after pulling me out into the hallway for a little chat. It was clear she was too humiliated to create a scene in front of the entire class. She peered up at me as I leaned casually against the wall, my thin build towering several inches above her own.

“Jake and I are together, Cammie,” I said politely as I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “I thought that much was apparent.”

The wheat-haired girl scoffed and her brown eyes blazed with hatred as she shifted her weight to the other foot. “You don’t even like him.”

I shook my head, a tiny smile twitching at the corner of my mouth. “I love him.”

“Well then why the fuck did you say you were friends?” she spat. “You fucking ignored him for like a month!”

I sighed softly. “It’s a complicated situation, Cammie, and I’m sorry if it hurt your feelings, but I’m not giving him up.”

A snort escaped the girl’s lips and she rolled her eyes. “Please,” she sneered. “I don’t need Jacob Black to keep me entertained, I probably would have dumped him eventually anyway. He’s hot but he’s really not my type.”

I rolled my eyes lightly and chuckled. She had that right; Jake was far too polite and compassionate to get along with someone like Cammie Thistle.

“Well, good luck finding yours, Cammie,” I said with a tiny smirk as I left her in the hallway, glad that everything was finally resolved.

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News had traveled fast about Jacob’s and my relationship, and as I walked proudly into the cafeteria for lunch, my ears picked up on the chattering voices of students checking out the latest pairing. I knew the excitement would die down within a few days once everyone found something else to gossip about, so I didn’t really pay attention to the eyes dissecting our actions as we sat around our table.

“How are you feeling?” Jacob murmured as he placed a kiss on my cheek after pulling me down next to him. I suppressed the shiver that threatened to roll up my spine, taking a long swig from my water bottle before leaning against his frame, molding myself easily against his torso.

“Just tired and a bit heavy,” I replied with a soft smile.

It was true that I had actually felt better since making up with Jake last night and I jokingly wondered if he would actually cure me. It was a wistful thought and quite an appealing theory, but one I knew could never be a reality. Just because the lack of stress was easing my nausea didn’t mean I was healing.

Worry flashed through the boy’s eyes and I took his hand reassuringly.

“Jacob, don’t feel bad,” I told him, giving his hand a light squeeze. “You’ve helped me more than you know and it hasn’t even been 24 hours yet. I’m actually feeling a little better than I have in a few weeks. Can’t you see the color?” I added, pointing to the light flush in my cheeks.

“Yeah,” he replied, placing a gentle kiss on each cheek before a loud cough interrupted us from across the table.

“As much as we love that we don’t have to hear Jake complain on patrols anymore, I really don’t want to watch you guys make live porn,” Paul grunted, receiving a sharp elbowing from Quil.

“Let ‘em be,” he drawled. “They're practically newlyweds. And we all bit our tongues when you started dating Rachel.”

“Yeah…. Oh, Rachel, your eyes are so beautiful, they're like a dancing fire,” Jared mocked dramatically, his lips twisting in a smirk.

Paul tried to shove back from the table, meaning to launch himself at his friend, but Quil and Seth were quicker, swiftly linking their arms around his and holding him in his seat. The angry boy stopped struggling after a moment and settled himself more comfortable as he glared.

“Fucking asshole,” he grumbled as he directed his gaze back down to his food and was silent for the rest of lunch.

“So, Cole, got any plans for this weekend? Kicking off the big Christmas break?” Kim asked as the students began dispersing for their next class.

“I don—“

“Yep,” Jake replied proudly, pulling me against his side once more.

It was like we were couldn’t break physical contact for more than thirty seconds, but I didn’t mind one bit and reciprocated by wrapping my arm around his waist, pulling myself even closer as my heart thudded in my chest.

“I do?” I asked, raising a brow at his smirking face.

“Yep.”

Kim grinned and bid us a suggestive goodbye before disappearing down the hall with her boyfriend.

“And would you like to enlighten me as to what these plans are?”

“Well,” he grinned, turning down an adjoining hallway and stopping to lean casually against the lockers. “I can give you a slight hint… but you’ll have to wait for the rest,” he told me, leaning forward so that his breath tickled my ear and my cheeks flamed with color.

“Oh?” I breathed, unable to manage once more as my pulse quickened.

He nodded softly and leaned in to press a kiss against my jaw, just below my ear. I couldn’t help myself as my hands tangled themselves in his hair and I pulled his mouth down to mine, feeling him smirk against my lips.

He pulled away, his eyes sparkling with fire as he flashed me a lopsided grin.

“Damn,” he breathed. “I knew you couldn’t resist me.”

I rolled my eyes but still smiled up at him. “Well?”

His grin widened and he leaned in once more, though this time only for dramatic effect.

“You're going out with me on Saturday, but that’s all I’m going to tell you,” he answered, taking my hand once more and continuing down the hallway toward the gym.

“Oh… sounds perfect,” I breathed, happily following him down the hall once more.