A/N: Yikes.. I'm so sorry it's taken forever to update this fic. Life has been so busy lately and I haven't really had time to stop and think, let alone post an update. Thank you all for following and favoriting, for those of you who have been so far! I'm just thrilled that anyone seems interested in where this is all going. Huge thanks to everyone who has been kind enough to stop and leave a review because I'll be the first to tell you, it makes me so happy that you enjoyed it that much.

FYI, this chapter is my own spin on Bella / Jacob and the motorcycle accident. Featuring Veronica as just a friend to Jacob. I wanted to kind of both pay the smallest tribute to the original series itself and to the fact that I feel like Veronica and Jacob have this strictly platonic kind of friendship. And right now, they are both very concerned about Bella.

Thank you guys for being so patient with me! 00


08

I gaped at the motorcycles as I leaned hesitantly in the doorway of Jacob Black's shed. "I can't believe you guys actually freaking did it.. I thought you were only joking when you told me you were getting them, Bells."

"Why's it such a hard thing to believe?" Bella asked.

I eyed her hesitantly. It was on the tip of my tongue to point out that she has never been the daredevil type, nor has she ever even hinted at an interest in owning a motorcycle. That this was a stunt I'd pull if I weren't deathly afraid of cracking my skull like an egg on pavement. That this was just one in a long string of insane things she'd done lately and I was starting to really worry if she was okay. Instead of any of this, I went with the safest answer.

"I dunno.. I just never put you as the type to want to learn to ride? You've never shown an interest." I gave an apologetic shrug as I said it and Jacob nodded to the doorway I currently leaned in. "You might want to shut that and come in. I'm not entirely sure that Billy knows what we're doing out here and I really don't want a lecture."

"Would he be wrong to lecture you though? I mean think about it. Both of you." I glanced from Jacob to Bella as I spoke, flopping down across an old bench seat that looked as if it might have come from the truck at one point. Rather than continue the debate and make tension where there didn't have to be any, I spoke up with a smile. "So, how close are you two to having them finished and running?"

"We actually have them running now. Today is kind of the official test drive? Trying to learn the gears and make sure we got everything going properly." Jacob smirked as he said it. I gulped and nodded, toying with the sleeve of Embry's jacket. The gesture must have called attention to the fact that I still had it and I was still wearing it, because Jacob cleared his throat and gave me a solemn look before dispensing his own advice aimed at me.

"You know the rumor going around is that Sam Uley has a cult. And you know what I told you about the damage Sam somehow managed to do to Emily's face.. Right?"

"Jacob, don't start. I'm only going to tell you the same thing that I've been telling you for weeks now. I keep trying to give Embry his jacket back. I don't want him to catch hypothermia this winter. He's the stubborn ass who refuses to take it. And at this point, I'm not going to complain. Because he seems like a sweet guy."

"Sweet guys don't make friends with guys who can do what Sam did to Emily." Jacob explained it again as patiently as he could. "Embry isn't the same guy I've known since we were kids. He's changed. A lot. He won't even acknowledge me, Seth or Quil at school now. And the last time I saw you both in the same place together, I honestly didn't like the way he kept watching you and those four assholes kept whispering back and forth. I just.. Look, you're my best friend too. I want you to be careful."

"And I'm telling you, there's absolutely nothing to worry about. If he actually liked me, don't you think I'd see him around more?"

Jacob mulled it over as he rubbed his chin. He shrugged. "I don't know. It's hard to say. Sam pretty well keeps all of them under lock and key."

I grumbled to myself and fell silent.

"Are you guys planning to paint these? Because I have this idea…" I decided to change the subject again because between Bella's gentle teasing and Jacob feeling the need to remind me every single time he sees me that Embry may or may not be a part of some weird cult, I was kind of tired of discussing things with them both.

It's not like it was their business to begin with.

If I'm being totally honest here, I just want to have my little one-sided and harmless crush in peace. Without worry or pressure of any kind. Because I'm pretty damn sure that's all this is. A harmless and completely one-sided crush.

Embry Call isn't going to go for me. I'm not an idiot.

If he were into me, I'm pretty sure he'd go out of his way to make sure I knew it.

When Jacob spoke up again to mention something about that, I grumbled quietly and told Jacob as much. Jacob chuckled and Bella cleared her throat, nodding to the jacket I wore. "Okay, well what do you think him letting you keep his jacket is, huh? I mean.. I kept one of.." Bella went quiet and frowned to herself as what she'd been about to say went unfinished.

I didn't have to ask what she'd been getting at. I'm pretty sure she was referring to the jacket that Edward left in her room during one of his little secret nocturnal visits before he left town. Because she still wears it now and then. A lot less lately, but she does still wear it. Or smell it.

I stopped to think about what my sister and Jacob were suggesting and I doubled over laughing until I almost couldn't breathe. "Right.. My literal wildest dream is actually going to be interested in me, an actual weirdo. Okay, I'd like some of whatever you two are on lately." I teased them both gently. They shared a look and shook their head.

"You do realize you're not some hideous monster.. Right? Mike Newton flirts with you constantly."

"He does not! Besides, that doesn't count. He'll hit on anything with tits." I shrugged off the suggestion.

"Okay then, what about Dean McCormack?"

"What about him?"

"You realize he only asked me on a date when we were living with Renee because he liked you but you were kind of unapproachable, right?" Bella's revelation had me raising a brow and shaking my head. "Uh uh, you're full of shit."

"I'm actually not lying. He spent the entire date hinting that he'd like to get his foot in the door."

Only half joking I teased her back gently, "So now you see how I felt a time or two in the past." as I stuck my tongue out at her.

Jacob watched both of us with a raised brow and Bella explained, "Dean was Mr. Bigshot at our old school in Phoenix. And he had a huge crush on Veronica here, but Veronica, as usual, was oblivious as hell."

"I thought he was just being an ass. Or he was trying to win a bet. Remember Rory? He only acted that way with her because he had a bet going with the running back on the team that he could sleep with her before Christmas break." I grimaced and shook my head. "Besides, he was the most self-centered ass.. That just.. Look, it doesn't do it or fly with me. So I knew he was flirting to an extent, but I didn't trust him as far as I could throw him."

Bella gave a soft laugh and shrugged. "That was probably a wise choice anyway. Can you pass me those wrenches or are you just here for decoration, Veronica?"

I held out her wrenches and cringed at the oil on my hands. Everything lapsed into silence and around lunch time, Bella and Jacob were putting the final touches on the bike.

"C'mon. You can ride with Jake. Just until I know my bike is safer. He's had more experience doing this kind of stuff than I have, I trust him more." Bella glanced from me to Jacob and I shuffled my feet awkwardly.

Jacob tensed a little and as soon as Bella started to push her motorcycle towards the old dirt road in front of his house, he closed the door to the shed. "It was more her idea than mine. I mean yeah, I wanted a motorcycle.. But I was going to save my money and buy one that actually ran.. I'm worried."

"So am I, Jake. I'm so worried. Between this and what Jessica Stanley told me about her night at the movies last weekend, I'm half afraid she's going to do something.. Maybe you should make her ride with you and I'll drive the other one?"

"She'll know something is up. The only thing we can do is keep as close as we can to her when she takes off." Jacob muttered as he held out a helmet to me. I put it on and got onto the back of his motorcycle and we took off just to catch up to Bella. But she was getting faster and faster and my stomach churned nervously.

You know how they always say someone has a bad feeling, this impending sense of doom right before something bad happens? Well, I know it to be a true thing. Because a shiver ran through me just second before Bella crashed on the side of the road, her head bouncing off a rock.

"Fuck."

"Go faster! We have to get over there!" I pleaded, trying to hold back tears. Jacob sped his motorcycle up, sliding to a stop next to Bella's crashed motorcycle just as she sat up.

"Oh thank God." I knelt down beside her as I took a few seconds to breathe and just let my heart climb down out of my throat. Bella was a little out of it, her forehead was trickling blood and she groaned in pain quietly.

"What the hell happened?"

"I don't know. I went to press one thing and I accidentally hit the other and then I hit some loose gravel.."Bella trailed off. Jacob had taken off his tee shirt and he was pressing it gingerly against her forehead.

"Bells, we need to take you into town to make sure you don't have a concussion. Your skull just bounced off a rock."

"Veronica, I'm fine." Bella croaked in a weak voice.

"I knew this wasn't a good idea." I gazed at her in concern. Jacob held up three fingers to test and see if she had a concussion and Bella correctly identified that he held up three fingers.

But then she added that he was sort of beautiful and I groaned and laughed quietly. "You'll be okay. You're going to have one hell of a headache, but you'll be fine." Jacob coaxed as he helped her up off the ground.

And whether I wanted to drive one or not, I was stuck driving Bella's motorcycle back the short distance to Jacob's house. I think I white-knuckle gripped it the whole time. I know if I went any slower I'd have been rolling backwards. When I finally got to Jacob's, Bella wandered out.

I eyed her in concern because in the time it had taken me to get the bike back to Jacob's, I'd come to one kind of scary conclusion.. There was no loose gravel she could have possibly hit where she'd wrecked the bike.

The only thing I could come up with that made any sense had me sick to my stomach. I tried like hell to convince myself she wouldn't crash on purpose but deep down, I really had to wonder.. Would she? How did I even really know that anymore?

Jacob shot me a look and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he had to have started to think the same thing. Neither of us really said anything to Bella, I think we were both too shocked to.

"Do you guys want to go down to First Beach?" Bella asked, seeming in good spirits.

Jacob shook his head. "I told Billy I'd run him into town."

"I think we definitely need to get you back to Dad's and resting. That headache is going to hit any minute now. I still think you need to tell Dad what happened and go to a doctor just to be sure it's not a concussion you'll have later. C'mon. I'll drive." I pocketed the keys as Bella held them out to me. I think she realized I wasn't thrilled with her because she didn't put up a fight when I insisted I was the one to drive.

"Let me know how she is later, will ya?" Jacob asked and I nodded, giving him the thumbs up. "We'll see you later, man."

"Yeah. See you later." Jacob agreed. Just as I turned to walk over to where my sister parked the truck in Jacob's driveway when we got there, I happened to catch sight of Embry as he walked past.

We locked eyes and I swear, for just a split second, I saw just the faintest hint of jealousy as he turned his attention to where Jacob stood on the porch and glared.

I shrugged it off.

Embry made his way over.

"Everything okay?" he asked as he gazed at me in concern. I sighed. Knowing that Bella was waiting inside the truck, her head resting against the back of the seat, I sighed and shook my head again. "I don't know, Embry. I honestly don't know. I have to get my sister home, because if I didn't know any better I'd swear she.. No, she couldn't have wrecked the motorcycle on purpose. She couldn't have."

Embry eyed me in concern before glancing over at Bella inside the truck. He grimaced at the bump starting to form on her forehead. "You were careful though, right?"

"She made me ride with Jacob. That's kind of.. It's a big reason I'm afraid she.. Nevermind."

"Maybe it really was an accident." Embry muttered. I could swear I saw him tense just a shade when I mentioned that I'd been on the back of Jacob's motorcycle and I swallowed hard. Told myself that there was literally no way my sister and Jacob were even close to correct in their earlier observations.

He wasn't into me like that.. Was he?

Even as I tried to convince myself otherwise, I could feel just the smallest sliver of hope starting to bloom.

"I hope so. I hate to rush because kind of been wanting to see you lately, but I need to get Bella home and resting.. While you're here.." I paused and took a deep breath because what I was about to do was not something I normally did. I smiled and tilted my head slightly to gaze up at him as I asked, "Do you want my number?"

Embry grinned and nodded. "Yeah. I do. I was.. I wanted to ask you the last time I saw you. Guess I kind of chickened out."

I opened the door to the truck and grabbed a pen. Then I took hold of his hand, gasping a little as I felt the heat radiating off his body. I stared up at him a second or two. He's always so hot, like he's on fire. It really worries me. Someone can't run a perpetual fever.

Rather than mention it, because it wasn't really my place to do so, I wrote my cell phone number across the palm of his hand. He took the pen from me and took my hand in his as he gazed at me a few seconds that seemed to really linger and stretch and finally, he wrote his number in my hand. Closing the pen in my hand as he continued to hold his hand around it. "I'm glad I got to see you today." he muttered quietly as color rose to his cheeks. His friends called out to him and I glanced their way, a brow raised as my gaze met that of Sam Uley and I stuck out my tongue at the guy a second time. "He's coming." I called out with an amused smirk. Practically daring one of them to have the audacity to say or do the slightest thing.

They may 'scare' other people but they don't scare me. So what they're giants? Imposing height aside, they're no different than any other person. And the fact that Sam Uley carries himself the way he does after he did the things he did to my best friend Leah, well.. I don't really care what he thinks about me talking to one of his friends. It's not his business anyway.

Embry snickered quietly as he finally let go of my hand. " I need to get up there before Sam gets bitchy..Be careful driving home."

"Always." I smiled a little. Reaching up to fluff close cropped black hair before I could stop myself because the urge to touch him was almost too much to handle. I got into the truck and Bella cleared her throat.

"I repeat.. There is no way he just wants to be your friend." she teased with a soft but pained smile. I ignored her statement and started to drive us back to our father's house, my mind busy. Worried. And in the very back of it, I found myself wondering if maybe there wasn't some small crazy chance that Embry might just like me back.

The thought had me smiling just a little.

It was hard to really enjoy the thought when I was worried that my sister might have just purposely crashed a motorcycle and injured herself.