Serendipity

A month had passed since Bella had lost her humanity to that... that thing. That monster of a being named Edward had changed her, stealing her forever from those that cared about her, and condemning her to an eternity of damnation.

And what had he done to prevent it? He had done what he could to convince her he wasn't worth her giving up everything for. He tried to persuade her with their friendship that things would never be the same. Yet it hadn't been enough – he hadn't been enough.

“Edward... he's what I need, Jake. He's all I've ever wanted – and I want this, to spend eternity with him. I love him.”

To this day, the fair-skinned brunette had been all that plagued him. She consumed him and his thoughts, and was the thing that tortured him day in and day out. However, that image of the girl he had been so fond of in his mind began to change, a sort of metamorphosis occurring when fate intervened.

Bella was Bella no longer.

Bella was someone he no longer knew.

What now drew him into a state of infatuation was the image of someone else.

A girl with warm, caramel toned skin that seemed to radiate in the sunlight, with copper colored irises that caught and reflected the sun beams and seemed to glint naturally with wonder. Dark chocolate tresses that reached just past her small shoulders, with hints of a vibrant red dashes at their ends, framed her heart-shaped face that consisted of a cute button nose and plump, rosy lips.

It was as if he were seeing the very person that was created for him – and part of him knew this to be true. Before even knowing her name, the girl before him was his everything – his dream, his world, his universe, and more.

“Hello...” he breathlessly uttered, soon getting himself up hastily before rushing to her side and extending a hand.

She gazed at him in a sort of trance, her light amber eyes trained on him and him alone, the heart in her chest seemed to pulse off beat, almost as if it were just as nervous as she was.

“Hi...” her timid voice whispered, her dainty hand taking his rugged one.

Jacob's large fingers wrapped themselves around her palm and he swore there had never been a more perfect feeling, her cool skin and his contrasting warmth seeming to meld them together.

She was lifted up with the greatest care, the boy looking her over for any possible ailments that she might have procured from their run in with each other. When he didn't think there were any to be found, he faced her and they seemed to take each other in carefully till he realized they wouldn't be able to stare at one another the whole day.

“You good?” His deep voice seemed to find its way.

“Yeah, thank you,” she nodded in reply.

“I've never seen you 'round school before—” he mused aloud “—transfer student?”

“I take it there probably aren't that many of us?”

He smiled. “It... it makes you special.”

“In a good way, I hope?” The ends of her lips were pulled up slowly on invisible strings, a sort of playfulness seeping into the tone of her voice.

“The best way,” he responded, his hand then reaching out to her once more to properly introduce himself. Normally he'd just tell his name and maybe give a nod of the head in acknowledgment, but he wanted to make a better impression than that – that and (he couldn't lie to himself) he wanted to feel the touch of her soft hands once more. “I'm Jacob Black, a senior here at La Push. You?”

She couldn't help but let her smile grow wider and fonder, learning the boy's actual name before her making her a bit giddy on the inside for some reason. Her hand once again captured his, their fingers wrapping around each other and securing a firm, but gentle grasp as if it to not let the other go.

“I'm Brennan Riley, a transferring senior with absolutely no idea where she has to go,” she explained through a light-hearted giggle.

Jacob couldn't help but wonder – since when he had ever felt like such a damn sap? Just hearing the girl's giggle had his chest tightening from endearment, as if he had never heard anyone else ever laugh before.

“I believe I can help you with that,” he offered, dismissing his inner thoughts. “Can I see your schedule?”

He checked it over and mentally compared her schedule to his own, growing disappointed to find he only had one class with the girl – history with Mr. Murphy who would murder anyone caught gossiping during lectures.

Greeeaaat... Jacob sighed to himself.

“Anything wrong?” Brennan asked, noticing his demeanor change.

His eyebrows perked up a bit as he realized he had physically conveyed his discouragement, rather then mentally. “No, not really,” he began. “I just noticed that you have Mr. Murphy for history – which isn't bad because he's a good teacher, but the guy's pretty strict. If he catches you talking during lectures you're dead. Luckily for you though, we have the same period, so I can help you if you need anything.”

She sighed in relief. “You're the best.”

“I hope you didn't just figure that out now,” he teased, both of them laughing at his lame joke. “C'mon, I'll take you to your first class – it's English with Mrs. Grant.”

“Are you sure? The first bell already rang five minutes ago. Won't you get into trouble with your own teacher?” Brennan asked with concern. “I'm sure I can find it if you tell me how to get there.”

“This place is small, but it can get confusing if you don't know it. I don't mind showing you the way,” Jacob reassured.

“Remind me to thank you again later,” she grinned.

“You shouldn't have said that,” Jacob smirked.



Brennan was glad that first period was over, because it meant she was that much closer to the end of her first day. Just like in every other cringe-worthy high school movie, she was forced to give the ever-cliché “new girl” speech that consisted of who she was, where she came from, and what her hobbies and likes were – as if any of her new classmates actually cared.

She grabbed her belongings and followed the rest of her classmates out of the room silently, getting her schedule from her pocket to see if maybe she could navigate her way towards her next class on her own this time.

“Brennan.”

She took a few steps down the hall before she was stopped, the brunette turning round to see Jacob leaning up against the wall by her class. “Jacob,” she mused softly. She didn't know why she was so surprised to see him standing there, but she was.

He smiled and approached her, extending out his hand expectantly. “So where are you headed next?” She plopped her schedule down in his hand and walked to his side to read it along with him. “It's time for human anatomy with Mr. Henderson. C'mon, it's this way.”

Yet again the pair was off, weaving through clusters and lines of students and following the corridors that eventually led to another classroom door. As students began to pour into the classroom, with the tolling of the bell soon to ring, Brennan turned to Jacob.

“Thanks, Jacob,” she sighed in relief, “I'd be lost without you.”

“Who wouldn't be?” He joked, smiling as she laughed and rolled her eyes. “Anyways, after second period we have a nutrition break for 15 minutes. You wanna join me and my friends?”

“Count me in.”

“Good choice. We're the cool kids of La Push.”

“I don't doubt it for a minute.”

He smiled at the faint hint of her sarcasm and shook his head as if to stop himself from laughing aloud. The bell finally rang and Jacob shooed her to her own classroom door before starting to dart off to his own, Brennan giggling softly as she watched the giant dork rush away.

Second period commenced with little to keep her interest. Mr. Henderson seemed to droll on about the figures in the textbook, labeling what needed to be brought to the class's attention, and pointing out important info that might pop up on their future exams.

Forty-five minutes later, the bell dinged and announced the end of second period, the whole of the classroom seeming to give a sigh of relief as they stuffed papers into their backpacks and shuffled towards the door to leave. Brennan, again, being the last to make it out.

As she stepped out, she looked around and saw Jacob jogging over to her, coming to retrieve her and bring her to his closest friends.

“So how was it?” He asked.

“I think I aged in there,” she laughed.

“Too bad you don't look any wiser,” Jacob teased, to which she smacked his arm lightly, the boy pretending to be hurt.

“So, where do you and your friends hang?”

“Thought you'd never ask.”

He guided her through more hallways before arriving at the outside quad. The quad was the hub of student activity, with benches and picnic tables scattered about for their convenience, some trees being planted in the perimeter for a bit of shade during the warmer days.

One group of people seemed to draw her eye almost immediately, mostly due to the fact that they were similar to Jacob in terms of appearance. However, the biggest giveaway was how rowdy they were, with all of them joking with one another, a pair of them play fighting and providing a laugh for the rest of them.

Her assumption was proven true as Jacob led her right to them, Jacob clearing his throat and gaining their attention.

“Well, who do we have here?” One asked.

“Knock it off, Quil,” he started. “Listen up and let me introduce you. Guys, this is Brennan, she's a new transfer student.” He looked from his pack brothers towards the brunette, and while many wouldn't notice, they could see a certain affectionate gleam in his eyes that caused them all to smirk. “Brennan, this is Quil, Embry, Seth, and Kim.”

Brennan smiled as she put a name to each face. “Hey,” she greeted rather lamely.

Two of the boys boomed with laughter, Embry and Quil pulling aside Jacob, giving their friend a few good noogies on the head, teasing him about what they knew had happened, while the boy named Seth and the only female, Kim, approached her instead.

“Nice to meet you, Brennan,” Seth greeted. “How you liking this place so far?”

“Well, it's just another school,” she shrugged. “Although I do like the campus. I'm transferring from a high school in Seattle and we never had a nice big quad like this. Everything was inside. Pretty stuffy.”

Seth nodded his head while he listened. “Well, it's never stuffy here. The rains make sure of that.”

“It rains a lot in Seattle too, Seth,” Kim laughed. “Like Jake said, I'm Kim.”

“Nice to meet you,” Brennan smiled. “You've been to Seattle before?”

“Mmm,” she pondered playfully, “for vacations, yeah, but I've never really lived there. Although, the whole damn state of Washington is pretty much in an eternal rainy season – or at least that's how it feels.”

They shared a laugh and as Brennan looked around at this quirky gang of friends, she was glad that she might soon be able to consider herself one of them.



Just as he had the rest of the day, Jacob found the transfer student coming out of her last class, walking along with her towards the front gates where the other students were reclaiming their lost freedom.

“So who's picking you up, Bren?”

Bren... she thought, pondering the nickname for a second before grinning to herself. “I'm just gonna walk home,” she sighed, the answer reminding her that home meant dealing with her father, Andrew, again.

“You want a ride?” He asked, perking up at her answer. It was a great chance to find out more about her and he wasn't going to pass it up.

She really wasn't in a rush to get home. Although, something inside her was dreading the thought of separating from Jacob when they had just had an incredible day together.

To hell with it.

“I'd love a ride,” she accepted.

“Great!” His hand captured her own automatically. “My car's this way!”

He guided her towards an older red Rabbit that was parked towards the rear of the parking lot. Jacob getting out his keys and unlocking the doors for them to get inside. She slid into the seat with ease, the enclosed space seeming to heat her up as Jacob was placed by her side in close proximity. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it before, but now she supposed that the boy just had some abnormally high body temperature.

Jacob pulled out of the stall and soon the parking lot, his fingers twisting a knob on the dash and some music flooding out through the speakers.

“Any requests?”

“This is fine,” she reassured.

He nodded and sat back in his seat, soon not being able to help himself – he had to know more about her. “So what brings you to La Push, Bren?”

Brennan had figured she'd have to start talking about the accident sometime, but she didn't think it'd be this soon. Nevertheless, while she didn't necessarily want to bring up the memories, she knew she'd have to sooner or later. And it was better to get things over with than to dread them later on.

“Well, I'm from Seattle, but I ended up moving to La Push to live with my dad after my mom died.”

Jacob seemed to want to throw himself under his car and die. Why did he have to make her bring up something like that? Goddammit, he was an idiot...

“Sorry, Brennan,” he whispered. “I didn't mean to bring that up...”

She sighed and shook her head, insisting it was fine. “Don't worry about it, Jacob. You didn't know. Besides, me talking about it is probably a good way to cope, right? It's better than bottling it up.”

He nodded stiffly, whispering, “Don't force yourself if you're not ready to, though.”

“I don't mind,” she persisted. “It was the night of my homecoming dance. My mom picked me up and, before we even knew it, a few blocks later a drunk driver collided with us. They told me my mom died at the scene, and I ended up going into a coma for a few days. When I came to, I was told the only family I had left was here in La Push, so when I was finally discharged I got sent here and well...” she shrugged her shoulders and sighed, “here I am.”

“How are you? Do you still hurt?”

“I'm still a bit sore, but it comes and it goes. I still have a small prescription bottle of painkillers though, so that helps too. Other than that, I'm okay. Perhaps a little... emotionally damaged, but that's it.” She confided, her eyes seeming to glisten with tears for a split second. Before they could well up any more, she changed the subject. “Enough about me though, what about yourself? Lived here all your life with your family, or what?”

Jacob knew that the only thing he could do for her was try to perk her up, and so he did his best. “Yeah, been in La Push all my life. It's just me, my dad, and my sister Rachel. I have another sister named Rebecca, but she's living in Hawaii with her husband. My mom passed away when I was younger – it was a car accident, too.”

“I'm sorry...” Brennan whispered, feeling somewhat helpless. This car ride seemed to be turning into nothing but a pity party.

“Don't be sorry, Bren,” he comforted. “Crappy things happen sometimes, but that doesn't mean we should let them define us.”

“I didn't know you were so wise, Jacob,” she playfully teased, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

He smiled and turned to her. “Don't worry, you'll see how great I am soon enough.”

“So, what else is there? I've already met your friends, so what is there in La Push?”

“Well, you've met most of my friends. I've got other friends who've already graduated though – Paul and Jared, you'll meet them later I'm sure. Kim is actually Jared's girlfriend, and since you hit it off so well together, you're practically friends with him, too.”

“Then you better make sure to introduce me soon.”

He gave a booming laugh that seemed to rattle the chassis of the car. “I will, don't worry,” he nodded. “Other than that, La Push is pretty chill. Not too big a city, but that fits pretty well. When you're stuck here, you can find yourself down at First Beach most of the time.”

“No movie theater or anything?” Brennan asked curiously.

“No, not even one in Forks – the next town over, we've gotta go all the way to Port Angeles for that.”

“So then do you and your friends just head down to the beach all the time?”

“No, sometimes we cliff dive,” he shrugged, “but then again I guess you could say we do since it's practically right next to it.”

“Cliff dive?” Brennan's eyebrows perked up in surprise, small hints of a smile starting to appear upon her features.

“Yeah, you should join us sometime. Funnest thing to do here.”

“We'll see,” she shrugged it off with a smile.

Brennan looked out the window and, surprisingly, noticed the area was familiar, and she realized they were already close to home. Either Andrew was a slow driver or Jacob was a lead foot, because compared to the ride this morning, the ride back home felt like it hadn't even taken a portion of the time. True enough, a home off in the distance grew bigger, and Brennan had to tell Jacob that this was her stop.

The Rabbit rolled to an easy break, and the pair seemed to realize this was the end of the line and sat in a dismal silence, neither wanting to point out the obvious. Jacob knew that he would get to see her again though, and so, unwillingly, he turned to her and gave his best grin that seemed to pull one of her own up onto her lips.

“I guess, I'll see you later then, Bren.”

“Yeah, I'd say 'see you tomorrow', but it's Friday.”

“Yeah....” was all that he could lamely mutter out, realizing it would be an entire weekend before they could see one another again.

And then a thought struck him.

“Hey, I have an idea, why don't you come with me to see the basketball game tonight? I'm going to my friends', Sam and Emily's, to watch it. The guys you met earlier at school are going to be there and Paul and Jared, too.”

Her stomach seemed to flip about inside her, the teenager wondering why she was getting this excited over basketball. Then she wondered if she could, or rather, if she dared. After what had transpired last night between her father and her, she wasn't sure if going and staying out late would be wise. She didn't want to do anything to irritate him further...

“Sorry, Jake, after moving, I'm still a little tired,” she smoothly declined.

Jacob gave a small smile, trying to not give away his utter disappointment and somewhat failing. “It's okay. Just make sure you get some rest, alright?”

Brennan nodded her head slowly, letting him know she'd rest up, before turning her body towards the door and finally opening it up. As she began to get out, Jacob caught her hand and gingerly pulled her back down towards the seat.

“What's wrong?” She was completely clueless.

His hands stuffed themselves into his pockets and soon retrieved a small, black device. His finger ran across the screen, bringing it to life and pulling up a dial pad. “I just remembered I don't have your number yet,” he admitted sheepishly.

She grinned and took his phone, dialing in her digits before handing it back to him.

“See ya, Jake,” her voice hummed as she got off the car.

“See ya...” he whispered, his eyes going from her, to his phone, and then back to her once more.

Jacob watched her form till it was gone completely, the front door of her house closing and hiding her away from the outside world. He looked towards his phone and eagerly saved her number as a new contact, his fingers seeming to twitch giddily as he typed in her name.

He looked to her home one last time before setting off, his old Rabbit taking him down the familiar roads of La Push towards Sam and Emily's. He wondered what his pack brothers would say, what they would do.

The only thing Jacob was certain of was that everything had changed. He was no longer the Jacob Black that pined for Bella Swan, or resented himself to death for not being able to stop her from becoming a vampire.

And all it seemed to take was one girl – one girl and the happiness she brought.

He was different.

The world was different.

And everything was changing just from her joy...