Just the Way You Are

Jacob and Eve walked down the halls of the hospital, heading for Darla's room. Eve was walking stiffly, contemplating whether or not surgery would be an option for her mom's cancer. Jacob could sense all the tension radiating off her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders in an attempt to calm her, and when she looked up at him, he smiled reassuringly down at her.

"It's going to be alright, Eve."

She smiled back gratefully and nodded. "I hope so."

They reached Darla's room and walked inside, seeing her sleeping on her bed. She looked like she had more color to her sunkissed skin, which was good, and she looked serene as she dozed. Eve smiled, taking her mom's hand and kissing it quickly before setting it down onto her lap.

They sat down on the chairs and Eve stared at her mom lovingly, while Jacob stared at Eve the same way. He felt the urge to be closer with her. That pull towards her that never left him was intensifiying.

He scooted his chair closer to her quietly and pulled her towards his body, letting his arms be the comfort she needed. Instantly, she relaxed into them. All the worries in her mind vanished and all she could think about was him, and how he was perfect to her.

Perfect for her.

She wanted to be his, and she wanted him to be hers. Eve thought that they were good together. These past few days had been great, terrific even. It was almost like something out of those cheesy movies that came out every other month, but it was so much better than that. This wasn't scripted, it was real.

That was also the bad part about it.

Eve didn't know the ending. She couldn't turn a few pages and see what would happen later on. She didn't know if something would happen and tear this friendship apart. Eve didn't know if Jesse would actually make a complete turn around and make things right again in their relationship.

Eve stole a quick glance at Jacob and the way he contently looked up at the ceiling. He knew quite well that Eve's honey eyes were lingering upon him for a few seconds, and it made a small grin arise on his face.

I wish I could kiss him, just so I could know how it felt. Eve concluded, quickly turning away before Jacob turned to look at her.

As she expected, she noticed Jacob turning to face her from the corner of her eye, though she didn't look back at him. Blush was already coming to her cheeks and she didn't want it to become more visible by staring into those dark brown eyes of his that were so entrancing.

The door opened and Eve snapped out of her daydreaming, sitting upright and looking towards the door frame. "Hello Dr.Cullen," She greeted warmly. "How are you?"

"I'm quite well, Eve, thank you for asking." Carlisle smiled back at her. "And yourself?"

"About the same." She answered. "How did everything go yesterday with my mom and the member from the medical center?"

It remained silent and Carlisle began to smile. "They said it was possible. However, it will be a while before they are able to do the operation. They'd like her to continue on with chemotherapy for a little longer so the surgery will be more successful."

Eve's lips contorted themselves into a smile, her eyes shinning with hope, and she mentally told herself to not go overboard. "That's great!" She shouted, jumping up and landing on her feet. "How long will she have to have chemotherapy for before they're able to do the surgery?"

"Well, it'd be in her best interest to continue for six to twelve months, just to be on the safe side."

"Oh, well, that's longer than I expected..." Eve's voice trailed off, but instantly snapped out of her brooding mood. "But it's still good news. Thank you, Dr. Cullen."

Carlisle gave a simple nod before smiling. "I was glad to help. We can release her later tonight or early tomorrow morning, whichever you prefer."

"Well, I need to get her room cleaned up so, can you discharge her tomorrow?"

"Sure, well, I'm happy I could help. I have to go now and tend to the other patients. Have a good day." He smiled, waving as he closed the door.

Eve turned to Jacob and grinned from ear to ear. "Can you believe it?" She squealed giddily. "She can come home tomorrow!"

"Yea, it's great!" Jacob answered, laughing as Eve bombarded him with one of her warm hugs.

A few hours had passed and Jacob and Eve had chatted and played games of Go Fish and Speed with a pack of cards that they had bought from the Gift Store downstairs.

Eve's eyes darted through each card in her hand and quickly put down one card, picking another one from her deck. Jacob's hand then put down his remaining card onto the pile and smirked victoriously as he claimed victory.

"You cheat, I swear."

"No, I'm just quicker than you." Jacob retorted. "I'll be back, I'm going to the restroom."

"Don't fall in," Eve muttered with a smile.

"Don't make me beat you for the sixth time in a row, Eve." Jacob teased.

Eve grabbed the small cardboard box for the cards and threw it at him, though he was already out the door, causing it to miss and hit the wall.

She walked over and picked it up from the ground, placing it on the small table where it resided earlier.

Arms wrapped around Eve's waist and her skin tingled, earning goosebumps everywhere. A small bouquet of Daisies appeared before her in one of the tanned hands and she grinned.

"I thought you'd love them," A smooth voice murmured into her ear. The smile fell once she realized it wasn't who she thought it was and she turned around in his grasp.

"Jesse, I told you to stay away from me for the rest of the day." She said sternly. "You shouldn't have come."

"Eve, I just wanted to apologize to you for this morning." He replied in a sincere tone, making Eve look away from his pleading gaze.

"I shouldn't be the one you're apologizing to. You should be apologizing to Jacob." Eve retorted.

"If you want me to, that's what I'll do."

"Good, he should be coming back in a few minutes." Eve smirked, sitting down and looking away from Jesse who was mentally cursing all of them into a oblivion.

Darla grumbled and slowly turned in her bed, her eyes soon becoming visible as her eyelids lifted. She saw Jesse and smiled. "Oh... hello Jacob, how is your father, Billy?" She inquired.

Jesse nearly threw the flowers that were in his tight grasp at the sickly woman. He was able to control himself though, and gave a fake laugh. "I'm not Jacob, Mrs.Blair. My name is Jesse Worth, and I'm dating your lovely daughter, Eve."

"Mom!" Eve yelled and engulfed her in a tight hug. "I'm so happy you woke up..." She mumbled into her dark brown locks.

"Oh..." Eve let Darla go and she looked at her daughter who had transformed. "My Eve... you're nothing but skin and bones now." She chuckled. "You look nice though."

Eve rolled her eyes and chuckled as tears formed in her eyes. "Thanks mom." She replied. "How are you feeling?"

"A little sick to my stomach, though it's probably due to the chemotherapy. They told you, didn't they...?"

"Yea, I know, Mom..." Eve nodded. "I just can't believe you have cancer."

"Well, it happens to the best of us," She joked, trying to liven the mood. "How was California?"

"La Push is better."

Darla grinned and gave a small laugh. "I've bought every single magazine that you've modeled for, even if I had to have it imported."

The tears in Eve's eyes spilled over and she quickly wiped them away one by one. "Mom, I'm sorry that I didn't keep in touch when I was away. I got caught up in everything."

"I can only imagine, Eve." Darla pulled Eve onto the side of her bed and wiped away the other tears that cascaded down. "But seeing you in those magazines, and seeing your eyes light up was enough for me." She patted Eve's hand gently, and Eve squeezed Darla's hand in response. "If you're happy, then I'm happy. Always remember that."

"I love you, mom." Eve whispered, her voice shaky and cracking at the last moment.

Darla, who now had tears in her own eyes as well, smiled and pulled her daughter into a weak hug. "I love you, too, Evangeline."

Eve was slightly annoyed when her mom used her full name, however, she didn't tell Darla that it was "Just Eve". She wanted to savor and remember it, so she would never forget how her mom said it.

Darla chuckled, and pulled away. "Well, aren't you going to say it? 'It's just Eve, mom.'" Darla teased.

"Not this time."

"So..." Darla looked over Eve's shoulders and her eyes landed upon Jesse. "You're dating my daughter? How long has this relationship been going on for?"

"A year and a half," Eve answered.

"My, that's a long time." Darla looked surprised, but then looked back at Jesse. "Why did you get with my daughter Jesse?"

"I think she's the most beautiful person, inside and out."

"That sounds a bit rehearsed, doesn't it?" She questioned.

"Mom," Eve put an end to her mom's interrogation, though she enjoyed seeing Jesse look so nervous.

"Hey I'm back, what did I miss?"

All eyes went to Jacob who noticed Darla was now awake, with Eve sitting on the side of the bed. Everything went red when he saw Jesse standing there with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. Jacob calmed down instantly when Eve sent a smile at him and he walked passed Jesse and to her side casually.

"Hey Darla, how are you?"

"I'm fine Jacob, what about you and Billy?"

"We're good. Billy says hi."

"Well tell him I say hello back, will you?"

"Why don't you tell him yourself tomorrow?" Eve asked with a smile. "You're getting out tomorrow."

"Really? That's nice." Darla smiled sincerely.

"Yea, I have to make your room tonight, and then I'll be back first thing in the morning."

"Here, Mrs. Blair, would you like these Daisies?" Jesse inquired, showing them to Darla.

"Oh, no thank you, Jesse. They're lovely, but Eve's favorite flowers are Daisies, you should give them to her."

Jesse then handed the bouquet over to Eve, who murmured a thank you in response. Eve looked at the clock that read 7:50 PM, and gave a tired sigh.

"Visiting hours are going to be over right now, mom, I'll be back in the morning though."

"Alright Eve, get a good night's rest. Sleep tight and dream with the angels, baby."

The two shared a hug before everyone left the room to let Darla rest more. The walk towards the parking garage was silent and the air that surrounded them was tense.

"How did you get here, Jesse?" Eve asked.

"I took a cab since I didn't know where the hospital was." He answered, looking over at his girlfriend. "Jeez, Eve, you look cold." He then took off his jacket and placed it over her shoulders, making sure her arms were inside the sleeves.

They reached the car and Eve sat in the backseat while Jesse and Jacob sat in the front. Jacob was driving and Jesse was staring at the world that passed him by.

"Jesse," Eve called.

"Yea, Eve?"

"Weren't you going to do something, or better yet say something to Jacob?"

Jesse turned away and mentally cursed the fact that she had remembered about him apologizing to Jacob for that morning. He took a deep breath, cleared his throat a few times, and rolled his eyes before beginning to speak. "Jacob, I'm sincerely—what the fuck happened to my car?!"

Everyone turned to look at his vehicle and Eve was trying to hold back her laughter, while Jacob burst out immediately, pulling over to the side of the road to park.

Jesse jumped out of the car and ran over to his Cadillac, staring at it in the utmost horror. Eve and Jacob walked over together and Eve was biting her lip so she would refrain from laughing, however Jacob was now gripping his sides.

Jesse's car had Bologna stuck all over the car. They all knew that Bologna on car paint can make it fade, and as Eve tried to imagine what it would look like afterwards, she burst out into hysterics along with Jacob.

Jesse walked around to the driver's seat and reached for the door handle, looking disgusted to find his hand now covered in peanut butter. He wiped the sticky substance onto the grass, not wanting to dirty his designer clothes. He opened the door and got into it, his nose wrinkling up as he smelled the stench. He looked in the back of the car to find at least 10 fully unwrapped Pine scented air fresheners. Jesse started the car and the air condition kicked in. Flour hurtled towards him and got all over his clothes and face.

Anger boiled up inside of him and he stormed out of the car and towards Jacob. "You did this, didn't you?!"

"Yea, because I can be at two places at once," Jacob sarcastically remarked.

"Yea, c'mon Jesse, Jacob was with me the whole time, he couldn't have done this."

"I swear I'm gonna—"

"Jesse!" Eve yelled. "Get over it. You know damn well that Jacob couldn't have done this."

Jesse glared cruelly at Eve and then at Jacob before retreating into the house, cursing them both under his breath. Jacob's hands balled up into fists when he heard Jesse curse about Eve always siding with him.

"Jake, I'm so sorry." Eve apologized. "I don't know what's gotten into him. I don't think I can stand much more of it though."

"You should just dump him."

"If he goes off on you like that again, I will." She said. "That's a promise I'm making to myself."

Jacob smiled. "Good, because you deserve someone better than that guy."

They said goodbye and Jacob got into his car and received a call from Embry.

"That was so fucking hilarious!" Embry yelled.

Jacob laughed. "Yea, it was. You guys did it, but why?"

"The fucker slashed your tires! Seth and I saw and we wanted to mess with him. We replaced your tires with the ones you had in your shed and got the rest of the gang to help out with trashing his car. Of course Leah and Sam didn't help. Fun suckers..."

"Okay, well, thanks Embry, I'm gonna go home now. I'm tired."

"'Kay, remember you have your shift tomorrow morning until noon."

"Shit..." He cursed.

"What's wrong?"

"Eve's going to bring her mom home tomorrow morning and I was going to be there to help out."

"Dude... I'm sorry, but... me and Quil can't think about taking another one of your shifts. We're tired and wanna spend time with Dylan and Claire. I'm sorry, Jake..."

"No, it's fine. I'll do my shift tomorrow. Thanks for always doing it for me."

"No problem, gotta go, bye."

"Bye."

Jacob closed the phone and started up his car, driving home. At least he wouldn't have to stand Jesse for much longer. Knowing him, he'd explode on him again tomorrow, and then he'd be gone and out of the picture.

Then he would have his chance with Eve and it would all work out... he hoped...