The Consequences {Jacob Black}

Chapter XVIII

Monday morning came without fail. Jake stood by my locker, undoubtedly waiting for me. It was the first time that he'd been back at school since he'd gone tracking that leech. Surprise, Bella knew the leech. I had decided that my sister needed to find new people. All the ones I'd met so far tried to kill me in some way or another. Jake smiled at me as I made my way to the hall. "I suppose you want the truck back now," I said, holding out the keys. Jake just smiled and laughed.

"No, but I do want you to come over after school so that we can talk," he said, curling my fingers around the key. "Besides, I can hear that thing all the way from Forks. It lets me know that you're safe."

"Aren't you just the comedian?" I said quietly, opening my locker and taking out my things, and following Jake to English. Now that my life was finally back on track, I was back to reading in classes, avoiding doing my work, and cramming to get everything done. Jake sat beside me, fingering the pages on his textbook. He hummed quietly to himself, but I could feel his eyes on me the entire class. When the bell finally rang, I stood, waiting for Jake.

It was the first time that we were both walking into Murphy's classroom. I mean, I had gone by myself for a week and Jake had gone the week before me. But as we approached the heavy door, Jake stopped, growling under his breath. "Come on, we've both done this," I said, placing a hand on his forearm. He was shaking, his hands closed over my arms. "He's not in their Jake, okay?" He nodded, breathing sharply through his nose. His hands slid down my arms, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. He intertwined his fingers with those of my good hand, giving them a gentle squeeze. "Let's go."

Today marked the first day that Jake and I were actually friends at school in weeks. And yet, as I saw Quil standing by his locker, I couldn't bring myself to stay with Jake. "Where are you going?" he asked, fingers around my elbow.

"Jake, I can't just leave Quil; everyone else has," I said, pulling against him.

"You can't hang out with him, Annie."

"Yes I can; he's not going to do anything, Jake. He just needs to know that he has one person left," I said, tugging against him. "You could always come sit with us," I suggested.

Quil's eyes were searching the crowds, looking for me. "He's close, Ryanne," Jake whispered, pulling me flush against him. "He's showing all the signs of turning. I can't let him near you, Annie."

"Okay, your overprotectiveness is getting out of control," I said quietly, pushing him away. "Quil needs a friend, Jake. I can't just let him all alone and since you and the pack can't hang out with him, that leaves me."

He was quiet, as if he was carefully weighing my words. "Fine," he muttered. I almost didn't hear him. "You sit with him, you each lunch with him, you hang out with him. But I'm going to be watching and if he shows even the slightest little twitch, I will have you away from him before you can say wait." I nodded, stretched up on my tip toes, and pressed my lips to his cheek.

I called a farewell behind me, practically skipping to Quil. "I thought you and Jake were buddy-buddy again," he grumbled. So he had seen us.

"Just because he's talking to me again doesn't mean that I'll leave my friends," I said. "You ready to grab some breakfast?"

The rest of my classes buzzed by without much fanfare. In fact, I was surprised when the bell rang and I was free for the day. Jake was leaning against the driver's door, arms folded across his chest. I lobbed the keys, hoping to hit him in head. Just before they could actually smack him, he reached up and caught them. "Show off," I murmured. I slid in before him, relishing in the familiarity of the routine. It was like my life had come full turn. "Where we going?" I asked as he started the car.