What If Bella chose Jacob
Bella decided that she would stop emailing Alice entirely. She spent most of her days with Jake and the pack, making new friends and slowly regaining her life. She certainly got on well with Emily when the boys all went for their run. Bella even became friends with Leah Clearwater.
One evening, after Harry Clearwater had died, Edward called, but Jake picked up.
"No! Charlie isn't here right now, he's arranging a funeral," Jacob told him, before hanging up the phone. He never mentioned that Bella was actually still alive.
Suddenly, Alice appeared, and told Bella what she'd seen Edward decide to do. Alice demanded that Bella had to help Edward, before heading out the door.
"You're leaving already?" Bella asked.
"I will wait in the car," Alice told her as she walked out the door. Slowly, Bella followed Alice to her car, but she did not get inside. She looked at Alice through the already rolled down window as Jake moved closer.
"Bella?! What's going on? Wolves aren't good company," Alice insisted, looking sad and mad at the same time.
"Speak for yourself, bloodsucker," Jacob growled standing beside Bella. Bella had already decided not to go with Alice to save Edward. She was going to stay with Jake.
"I've spent too many sleepless nights getting over Edward. I won't put myself or my dad through that again. If you manage to save him, tell Edward I'm sorry," Bella told Alice as she moved closer to Jake, feeling his hot skin as it touched hers. They both stood and watched Alice's final glare before she sped off into the distance. Then they headed back inside the house.
Alice drove as fast as she could but she couldn't get to Edward in time before Edward exposed himself in front of everyone in Volterra. The Volturi took immediate action and terminated Edward. The rest of the Cullens decided to stay with their Denali cousins.
With the news of Edwards death, Victoria had no other reason to stick around and ran off away from Forks.
----o0o----
La Push
Bella felt different around Jake, more relaxed, as spent a lot of time with him. There was never a dull moment, especially when the rest of the pack was around. Jake had especially liked taking Bella for long walks on the La Push beach during the evenings. There were even moments when Jake wanted to kiss Bella, but he found it hard to read her. He tried to give out some hints. One evening, she looked at him and said "What are you doing Jake? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I was going… I... " Jake was lost for words.
"Were you going to kiss me?" Bella asked, almost reading his mind.
Jacob moved closer and leaned down slightly when suddenly Quil and Embry ran towards them. Quil pushed Jake, accidentally or on purpose he wasn't sure. His lips pressed against Bella's. Jacob felt a rush of feelings running through his body, however, Bella had mixed emotions. She had only just about got over Edward and wasn't sure what this feeling was with Jake. Bella was enjoying the moments with Jake but she wasn't sure if she was ready for another serious relationship. About a week after the kiss, Bella went to visit her mother in Phoenix for two weeks. Bella wasn't sure if she should bring it up until her mother mentioned it.
"Bella, about Jake. Do you have feelings for him?" her mother asked.
"What! Mum! Jake and I are just friends. What makes you think I…? Dad told you?" She sighed then looked back at her mum. "Honestly I'm not sure, about a week ago Quil, one of Jake's friends, pushed him into me and we kissed. My emotions were all mixed up"
"Well, You've mentioned his name and you haven't stopped talking about him since you arrived," her mother told her.
"Well I don't think I feel anything romantic for Jake. We are just friends. Can we please drop it now and change the subject?" Bella demanded.
"Okay, if you think you can distract yourself enough," her mother teased with a chuckle. "You can't do it can you. You can't stop thinking about him."
"How could this happen? I've only just got over Edward. Mum, what do I do?" Bella asked.
"Well first, stop panicking, you know Edward isn't going to come back, right?" Bella nodded. She knew all too well he wasn't coming back. When Carlisle had rang to tell her, she should have felt guilty but she didn't, it was his choice as Carlisle said. Her mother continued on. "Your feelings for Jake might have always been inside you, you may have just been suppressing them and that kiss must have triggered or unlocked those feelings in your heart," Renee explained.
Bella went inside and thought over what her mother had said. Bella wasn't sure it was love. She had known of Jake's feelings for her for a long time, but she couldn't decide if she held an attraction for him or if she just felt comfortable around him. When she arrived back in Forks the first person she saw was Jake.
"Bella, you're back! I've missed you. How's your mum?" Jake asked, smiling ear to ear.
"Hey Jake, I'm good. I missed you too and mum is happy as always. Have you been waiting for me?" Bella asked with a smile.
"Jake couldn't wait to see you again Bella," Billy chuckled as he rolled over beside his son.
"Thanks Dad. Making me look real smooth," Jake groaned, unimpressed before turning back to Bella. "So, do you fancy coming over to mine whilst those two watch the game?"
"Erm.. yeah sure. I want to talk to you anyway," Bella agreed. Jake raised his eyebrows, wondering if it was about when they kissed. He wasn't sure what Bella was going to say so he just followed her lead just as he had always done with her.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Jacob asked as they entered the living room. Bella opened and closed her mouth for a bit trying to find the right way to ask such an important question.
"Did you imprint on me?" Bella asked. Her voice was so loud it was almost like she was shouting. Jacob saw the frustrated look on her face.
"Straight to the point then. Honestly, I'm not sure. Bella, you know that imprinting is a wolf thing and it can't be helped. If I, in fact, have imprinted on you, we would both know about it. For starters, I would never have let you near that blood sucker. If you accepted it we wouldn't be able to eat, sleep or be without each other. We would never want to leave each other's side," Jake explained. "I'm not entirely sure if this feeling is an imprint as this feels different to when Sam imprinted on Emily. Why are you asking me anyway?" He asked.
"My mum thinks that I have feelings for you because I couldn't stop talking about you when I went to see her. I can't believe I just admitted that to you." Bella stamped her feet, whilst her hands gripped her face before finally falling onto the sofa. Jake soon sat beside her. "Do you?" he asked. Bella gave him a pleading look. One that said 'I don't know and don't press the issue.'
Later that evening, Bella needed some time alone to think. So Jacob went to see his alpha, though he was anxious to get back to Bella. To distract himself he chose to mess around with the rest of his pack. Sam, however, noticed something troubling Jake and he had a good idea what it was. So, he took him into the forest for a chat.
"Sam, where are we going?" Jake asked.
"I'm just going to say this, Jake. You do realise that you have imprinted on Bella already right?" Sam asked Jake.
"Of course I know, but as you know the connection between Bella and I is different to yours and Emily's. Why doesn't Bella know? Is it possible she could be resisting?" Jake asked.
"That I'm not too sure about. However, it could be the fact that she spent a lot of time around the blood suckers. He did have a pretty powerful connection with her. Just try to give her some time. We're here for you Jake," Sam advised.
Jake decided to phase and run for a while trying to clear his head, he was gone for a couple of weeks. His heart and wolf ached, they both yearned for Bella's closeness. It had hurt more the further he was. Suddenly, he found himself running back to Forks and watching Bella from afar. Jake was at ease knowing Bella was safe and sound back at home, but he wanted more. He wanted to be able to hold her and protect her.
Bella was pacing in her bedroom thinking about what had happened, Jake had been gone for two weeks ever since they talked. She couldn't stop thinking about him. As she paced, she suddenly sensed someone watching her, so she walked up to the window and looked out onto the forest. She thought she saw someone just behind a big tree opposite her house. When nothing or no one moved she rationalised that she was seeing things.
Jake reluctantly phased back into his wolf form and ran back to his pack. He spent most of time pretending to be ok, but all he kept thinking about was Bella.
"Jake? Dude, stop thinking about Bella so much, she just needs time. We know you've imprinted on her. We think you imprinted on her the day she had that motorbike accident," Sam explained.
Jake looked surprised, "I did? How can I not know that I imprinted? Since I have liked Bella for as long as I can remember."
"Jake! There are some things that are just out of our control, we cannot choose or know when it happens nor does it happen the same way for everyone. Things happen for a reason. Also, you weren't a shifter fully then. Maybe that's why it feels muted, plus she was still ensnared by the vampire," Sam justified. Sam walked off and left Jake to think it over before he returned home to catch some sleep.
The following morning, as Jake went to walk out of his door he stopped, there stood the one person he longed to see.
"Bella? What are you doing here? Are you here to see me?" Jake asked with wide eyes.
"Hi Jake, honestly, I don't know why I'm here. I just got in my truck, started driving and ended up here. Jake, what's going on?" Bella asked.
"Bella, I think you better come inside," Jake suggested before sitting with her on the sofa. "Bella, I told you about imprinting and how we can't control it. Well, I think that I imprinted on you when you had that motorbike incident. I didn't know it happened either as I wasn't a full wolf then, but I think it must have been when I was nursing your head wound."
" What are you saying? Why can't I feel our connection?" Bella asked.
"That is what I'm trying to figure out, well actually we all are. Like I told you before, what you and I feel is different to when Sam imprinted on Emily, theirs was strong and instant. I think because of the way you were after that blood sucker left, you had closed your heart off completely. So the bonding happened but you weren't ready to feel it and I wasn't strong enough to notice it either. "
"What do you mean by what you and I feel? And you keep saying 'We'?" Bella asked.
"I mean what we both feel for each other. I know you feel something for me Bella. I can sense how I make you feel when I'm close to you. You suppressed it before when you were with him, but now he's gone your heart and body can release your feelings. Also, when I say 'we' I mean me and the rest of the pack, we have wolf telepathy, so there are no secrets," Jake explained.
Bella's mind whirled as she left Jacob and went home, she made small talk with her dad before going to her room. Everything went around in her mind as she thought of what Jacob had told her. The evening quickly turned dark and she still couldn't recall those feelings. She decided to try and go to sleep, but she didn't sleep well. She woke up more tired and more confused. She was sat quietly eating her breakfast thinking, when an idea suddenly hit her. She rushed to her truck and drove to La Push to see Emily, she was the only one she could ask for advice. Emily smiled and they sat down for a long serious chat.
"Bella, what a nice surprise! It's so good to see you. Are you looking for Jake? He is worried about you, he left in such a hurry yesterday. Are you feeling alright?" Emily greeted.
"Hi Emily, I actually came to see you. Jake said that he imprinted on me when I crashed my bike, before he became a wolf. He said that I might not feel it because of Edward. Why don't I feel it? Is there something wrong with me?" Bella asked in one breath.
"Well first, breathe. Secondly, Sam thinks that is when it happened but we're not fully sure since Jake's wolf hadn't woken up then. Lastly, no there is nothing wrong with you Bell. Like Jake said, it could be that Edward's hold on you was stronger than you first thought, but it also could be that you weren't ready to fully commit to another relationship," Emily mused.
"Did he really have a strong hold on me? So much so that I wouldn't know if my fated mate had imprinted on me?" Bella recalled.
"I suppose only time will tell, you are still healing," Emily thought.
Another two weeks went by and Bella had begun to realise that she did have feelings for Jake, but wasn't sure how to express them. So she went to Angela and Jessica for advice. They told her that she should kiss him that way she would have to try and fumble her way through trying to tell him she was ready.
Bella pondered on their advice, but she found it hard to decide. Since she was spending each day with Jacob. She kept wanting to kiss him, but Quil and Embry kept appearing at the wrong time. She actually felt like she wanted to murder them. Jake scowled at them for having the worst timing every time.
A week later, Jake decided to take Bella to a quieter area of the La Push beach. Where they really got talking. As they spoke, his hand grazed against hers a few times, Bella smiled as tingles ran up her arm. She hoped for more but nothing else happened at first. It wasn't until the sun began to set that the gap between them started to close-in. Their breaths mingled as their lips touched.