Just the Way You Are

The roars that came from numerous planes as they took off into the midday sky, along with the intercom that announced incoming and boarding liners filled the air, making Eve feel like she was back in Los Angeles with all the hustle and bustle.

Jesse's hand was holding Eve's delicately, though had a firm enough grip to let her know that he wasn't planning on letting it go anytime soon. They walked silently down the terminals together, and Eve felt like it was taking far too long.

When she woke up this morning, she thought that she'd simply walk him to his gate, say goodbye, and be on her merry way. When he began walking slowly, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of slight annoyance. She wanted to be home with her mom, maybe even Jacob if she could.

wonder what he's doing? She thought curiously to herself. Maybe he's running more errands.

She reluctantly shrugged off the idea of seeing him again and continued to walk with her boyfriend to his gate. They arrived after another five torturous minutes, and as they arrived, the intercom went off announcing that his plane would be ending the boarding process in a few minutes.

Jesse turned Eve towards him and he smiled down at her. "I'm gonna miss you so much, Eve. You can't even comprehend." He said, putting a few strands of hair behind her ear.

"I'm gonna miss you, too, Jesse."

"I'll try to call or text you everyday. I don't know when I'll have a long enough break to talk, but I'll definitely try."

"It's fine, I understand. School's important." Eve nodded quickly, just wanting to get things over with and head home. "I hope that you'll do good."

Jesse grinned and kissed Eve's lips. She kissed him back for a few seconds and then pulled away, not liking to kiss him in public.

"Goodbye, Jesse."

"Bye, babe. I love you."

Eve laughed uneasily, and the intercom went off again, announcing the final call for passengers. "You better hurry or they'll leave without you!" She joked. Jesse nodded before kissing her forehead one last time and walking away and out of sight.

It felt like he'd never leave...

Eve began to walk out of Port Angeles Airport and into the parking structure. She got into the Yukon and started the car, playing some of her favorite songs from her iPod and then embarked on the journey home.

To make the long car ride go faster, she sang along to the songs that were on shuffle and danced a little as she drove. People in neighboring cars stared, though she didn't care. She'd probably never see them again, so what did she care if she made a complete fool out of herself? She was enjoying it, so she did as she pleased.

As she had hoped, the car ride went by quickly, and was pulling up to her home, feeling content and also excited as she noticed the red Volkswagen Rabbit parked in front.

Eve got out of the car with haste and made her way into the home with a smile. She immediately noticed the large tanned boy who was sitting comfortably on the couch with a bag of Lays Chips and a random television show.

"Well, I see you've made yourself comfortable," Eve noted, closing the door behind herself and joining him on the couch.

"Yup, your mom ordered me to." He replied with a grin.

"Where is she?" Eve questioned, looking around the room.

"Emily came by and took your mom to her house so they could have a nice chat." Jacob explained, turning the T.V. off to look at Eve directly. "She should be back later in the evening."

"Oh, alright." Eve relaxed into the couch and was leaned up against Jacob's large shoulder. Her skin slightly tingled and it was perfect in her mind. "So what are we going to do?"

"I was hoping you'd ask that," He chuckled, and stood up from the couch, causing Eve to lay down completely on the sofa.

"Should I be worried...?" She mumbled.

Jacob ignored her question and began to explain. "You left La Push, and have to go through initiation."

"Initiation...?" She eyed him in confusion. "Sorry Jake, but I don't remember going through initiation when I was born here."

"Yea well... too bad, you're going through it."

"You make it sound like a mid-life crisis or something." she laughed. "What does this 'initiation' entail?"

"You have to wait and see. Just go grab a swim suit." He ordered.

With a content sigh, she was helped up and sent off to her room. She closed the door behind herself and looked through her drawers for her swimsuit. After finding and slipping it on, she got into some denim shorts and a black tank top.

Eve walked back downstairs with some sandals in her hands and saw Jacob patiently waiting for her on the couch, standing up when he saw her walk into the living room. "You ready?" He asked.

"Yea, I guess..." She shrugged.

The two of them walked out of the house, Eve walked towards the cars and Jacob headed towards the woods.

"Um... weren't we going to drive...?" Eve asked.

Jacob shook his head in reply. "Nah, the beach isn't too far from here. C'mon, hurry up." Eve ran to him and he took her hand in his, making her heart speed up with excitement. As they walked into the trees, Jacob stopped. "Climb on my back."

"What for?"

"You walk too slow, we'll get there faster if you let me do all the walking." He smiled.

Eve rolled her eyes before mounting Jacob's back. Jacob grabbed her thighs and made sure he had a tight grip before continuing to walk towards the beach. Eve got comfy and nestled her head into the crook of his neck, and let her arms drape over his chest. She had never felt so at peace before...

"Don't fall asleep on me now," Jacob chuckled.

"I'm not... I'm just relaxing."

"So I'm that comfy, am I?"

"Pretty much,"

"Good to know."

It only took around five minutes to reach the beach. The smell of the salty mist that surrounded both Eve and Jacob made her calm and collected. She felt like she could fall into a slumber effortlessly.

"You can get off my back now, Eve." Jacob said.

She moaned softly and let out a yawn. "I'm too comfortable now."

Jacob sighed, but she knew that he was pleased with her reply. "I didn't want to have to do this, but..."

Jacob released her thighs and she immediately secured her arms around his neck, bringing him down along for the ride with an groan of surprise from him. They laughed together when they landed upon the sand side by side and Jacob grinned at her deviously.

"I honestly didn't expect that. I didn't land on you, did I?"

"No, I wouldn't be alive if you did." Eve joked playfully. "So what are we doing at the beach?"

"Initiation; just follow me."

Eve was helped up from the ground and the two of them began to ascend a hill, and as they reached the top, she noticed that they were at a cliff. Immediately butterflies erupted inside her stomach and she grew uneasy as he brought her towards the end of the ground they stood upon.

"Your initiation... is jumping off the cliff." Jacob smirked at her, though it fell when he noticed how tense she was. "Eve... is something wrong?"

"Um... I kinda have a thing about heights." She murmured, looking at Jacob to distract her.

"Eve you get on airplanes and you're afraid of heights?"

"Well... yea, sometimes you can only get to places by flying, and besides... it's faster. This is going to sound weird, but I'm only really afraid when I'm actually on the edge. If I'm on a plane, I'm fine. I just try not to sit at the window. When I'm on edge, I just kinda feel vulnerable." She explained, soon chuckling to herself softly. "I know, it's really stupid—"

"No, it's not, Eve. It's understandable." Jacob smiled and pulled her towards him and away from the edge. "You don't have to jump. I'm not making you. I just thought that you might have liked it."

As she was held in his arms, in his protective and caring grasp, she didn't feel anything. She could no longer discern the fear she was just drowning in seconds earlier. She could only discern the warmth that was emitted off Jacob's body, and the sense of reassurance she received while next to him.

It made her feel invincible.

"C'mon, let's go back down to the beach."

"Jake..." Jacob turned to her curiously and waited for her to continue. "I wanna jump... with you."

"Eve, are you sure? I don't want you to do something you don't wanna do just because of me."

"I want to jump with you." She enunciated, a small smile working it's way upon her small lips.

"Alright..." Jacob replied with a nod, and took her hand tightly in his own. "We'll get a running start. But you're absolutely sure, right?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Eve then turned her back towards Jacob and pulled her tank top over her head. She slipped her denim shorts off as well as her sandals before turning back to face him. His eyes were lustful, but concealed their emotion immediately.

"Ready?" He asked, extending his hand out for her to take.

"As I'll ever be..." She took his hand with a death grip at which Jacob couldn't help but chuckle lightly at.

Please don't let this be a bad idea... Eve pleaded with herself.

Eve and Jacob sprinted to the edge and jumped off, flying through the air for a split second before free falling towards the ocean below. Eve's heart pounded like a wrecking ball in her chest, and her eyes were shut tightly, not wanting to see what was coming. Eve was engulfed by heat and her eyes opened to see Jacob had his arms wrapped around her small body to let her know that she was going to be safe with him.

They collided with the bone chilling water and it hit her like a brick wall. All the air escaped her and she couldn't think straight. Large hands took hold of her arms and she was pulled up to the surface.

"Eve, are you alright?" Jacob asked urgently, pulling her into his body. "Why are you crying are you hurt?"

Eve hadn't even realized that she was crying, until Jacob told her. "No... no, I'm fine. I was just so scared...!" She explained. "But I'm happy for getting over the height, too... thanks for making me go over the edge, Jake..." Jacob chuckled and brought Eve into his chest. Eve wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head into the crook of it, soon mumbling into it, "But I will never do that again for any reason."

"I promise, I'll never make you do it again, Eve." Jacob said. "C'mon, let's swim back to the beach."

Jacob voluntarily swum to the sandy shore with Eve hanging onto his back. He enjoyed it thoroughly. The touch of her baby soft skin on his was like nothing else before, it relaxed him, it rejuvenated him, and it made him want to do anything in the world for her. Her soft breaths upon his neck made him realize how close they were. Jacob knew it wouldn't be much longer until she realized that she was with the wrong guy and she went into his arms.

Not much longer... He smirked to himself.

They reached land once again and Eve and Jacob sat down on the sand. Eve played with the sand beneath her by wiggling her toes and letting the small minerals cascade through her fingers.

"Enjoying yourself?" Jacob asked, staring at her contently with a smile.

"Very much so." She replied. "You?"

"Most fun I've had in a while."

Eve sighed complacently and leaned back, using her elbows to keep herself propped up. "I'm kinda glad that Jesse's back in Beverly Hills now, he's such a..." Eve tried think of a fitting word when Jacob interrupted.

"Pain in the ass?"

"I was going to say an annoyance, but that's another way to put it."

"Eve, you don't look happy when you're with him... so why are you? Isn't your boyfriend supposed to make you happy?"

"Yea, but... I don't know. I mean, we're trying to make things better between the two of us. Besides, if I just dumped him without even trying... I'd feel like everything we went through was a waste of time."

"Eve, it'll be a bigger waste of time if you let yourself go through with this any longer. You won't be happy."

Eve stared at the waves that toppled over one another and ran a hand through her hair. "Jake... I don't think I should be talking about this with you."

Jacob was stunned when she had said so. He only wanted to help her. He wanted to make her happy. Why was she so resistant and unwilling to listen?

"Don't get me wrong, Jake. I value your opinion, but... there are some things that aren't meant to be shared with other people. This is my relationship with Jesse and I just want to decide things fairly with him here than while he's off in California. I don't want to make the final decision without his input."

Jacob was slightly amazed at how thoughtful Eve was, especially to someone as self-centered and shallow as Jesse. He couldn't imagine how she ever fell for someone like him in the first place. However, her thoughtfulness seemed to draw Jacob in more, and he couldn't help but fall for her that much harder.

"I understand. You're a nice person, Eve." He spoke sincerely.

Eve smiled gratefully at him and Jacob pulled her into a hug. "Wanna head back home? It's already late in the afternoon."

"Sure, wanna stay for dinner?"

"I probably was anyway." He joked, helping Eve get to her feet.

"Oh crap,"

"What, is something wrong?"

"No, it's just... my clothes are still on the top of the cliff." She giggled, pointing from the spot where they had jumped from moments earlier.

He shook his head with a genuine smile before walking away. "Stay here, I'll go and get them. Be back in a few minutes."

"Alright, thanks."

Eve got comfortable on the sand and watched Jacob vanish from sight as he wandered into the trees and up the mountain. She sighed as she immediately got bored without company. She waited for a few minutes before she heard rustling from the trees and bushes and could imagine Jacob coming out of them. She smiled and looked over to find no one in sight, though her tank top and shorts sat neatly folded on the ground.

She grinned deviously. I bet he's trying to scare me... She thought and slowly stood up to check her surroundings.

Jacob was near the top of the mountain and a scent caught his attention. It made his hairs stand on end and a snarl rip from his throat. He felt the urge to shift into his more dangerous self, one that might change everything since Eve was nearby.

Eve...! I need to know she's alright!

He knew that sprinting back down the hill would take a while, and so he sprinted up towards the cliff. He came to a halt at the edge and could barely make out her small self on the beach, sitting where he had told her to stay.

He let out a sigh of relief, though he was still on edge. He looked around for her clothes and noticed they were out of sight... something had moved them.

Perhaps even someone...

Jacob's eyes darted back to Eve who was now standing and walking towards the trees, where she soon became out of sight.

Don't go in there...! He pleaded mentally.

Without wasting time, he sprinted off the edge and back down into the water, fighting the current as he swam towards the beach.

Eve headed towards her clothes that were neatly folded and picked them up. "Jake, you there?" She called out. There was more rustling in response to her call, and she chuckled before heading deeper into the trees. "Jake, c'mon out already. I know it's you."

She walked into a clearing and let her eyes look everywhere, scanning the area for any sign of Jacob.

"Eve!"

Eve spun around and saw the large teenage boy sprinting into the clearing, soaked to the bone and panting hard. "You're really bad at this whole 'hiding' thing, aren't you?" She questioned, meeting him halfway.

He enveloped her in a hug, squeezing her tightly. "I told you to stay put, Eve."

"What and let you scare me?" She scoffed. "As if. I know you put my clothes on the rock so you could see if I'd be frightened and scream."

Jacob stared at her in confusion, and his expression then turned into one of hatred. He couldn't believe that leech had tried to lure her away from him...! The simple thought made him go crazy inside, with images of tearing him to shreds and burning the remains.

He had gotten so close to her... so close...!

And Jacob Ephraim Black would not let him have that opportunity again.

He'd do anything and everything in his power to keep her away from that bloodsucker, to keep her safe and alive.

"Yea... you're right. I tried to scare you."

"Looks like you need to get better then. I totally saw it coming." Eve laughed. "C'mon, let's go home so I can make dinner."

Eve put her clothes over her slightly damp swimsuit and got onto Jacob's back like he had ordered. As they headed back home, Jacob told her to never take the shortcut to the beach without him or one of the guys along with her, claiming that something bad could happen at any given moment.

"You know... I'm not a weakling, Jake."

"I know... it's just that I'd feel better about it you know?"

Eve thought it was cute that he cared about her. It made her tighten her grasp around his neck subconsciously, and she felt her heart race faster.

"Alright, I'll make sure to take one of the guys with me if you're not around."

"Good."

"Hey, Jake?"

"Hmm...?"

"This morning, my dad told me that I'd have work tomorrow."

"Work?"

"Meaning my modeling. The magazine that I'll be doing the photo shoot for is sending a photographer out to Seattle and I was thinking of taking my mom along. Do you wanna come, too?" She inquired. "I mean, I just think it'll be nice to get out of La Push and you know that I don't like driving the Yukon."

"Alright, alright... you don't have to make up any more excuses, I'll go." Jacob cockily replied with a smirk.

"Shut up, now you're uninvited."

"You can uninvite me...!"

"Just did."

"I can run with you on my back to the cliff and push you off."

"You're re-invited!"

They shared a laugh and soon made it back home. Billy, Embry, Dylan, and Darla were watching television, and Jacob helped Eve make dinner for everyone.

I could get used to Jesse being gone... Eve concluded with a small smile.