Chapter 9: Noah

I spent a good three hours explaining my time with Katie to Sam. The pack house laughter had died down, and everyone was listening intently to what I was saying. After I finished, Sam reassured me that he would keep an eye out for more vampires, and that he would send Paul to check the surroundings of my house, back in Mystic Falls, for any signs of danger. Then we got back to joking and just having fun, when I suddenly realized that it was getting late. We still had to get home, but I wanted to see Bella before we left. Jake suddenly, as if he read my mind, sprang up and decided that we should het going. I expected Sam to ask us to say a bit longer, but he immediately complied, as if he too read my mind. Jake then said it would be a great idea if Leah cam with us, since they wanted to spend some time together. I was ok with the idea.

The sun hadn't completely set yet, so it was easy to find our way in the forest. Though I knew Jake and Leah's ware wolf eyes could see clearly in the darkest of nights, it felt good to be able to see for myself too. We walked for a few minutes until we found our car where we left it. The three got in and Jacob started the car. We talked about our time in the pack house, and Jake started talking about the first time he phased and how Leah reacted. Leah laughed at Jake's impression of her screaming, I laughed too. About ten minutes later, we pulled up onto a brick driveway. Bella's dad, Charlie Swan, is the chief of police, so his police cruiser was already parked there. The three of us pilled out and Jake ran up to the front door to ring the doorbell.

Before fumbling with the lock, a middle aged man, whom I was able to easily recognize, opened the door.

"Hey Leah, do I know these guys?" Charlie asked Leah casually.

"These are Jacob and Noah Black, remember them?" Leah giggled.

Charlie took a step back to examine us.

"Oh my, it is you guys, wow, you've grown" Charlie exclaimed.

"Jacob you're buff, and Noah you look really handsome. I had trouble recognizing you two germs!" Charlie joked. Whenever Charlie would enter a room where Jake, Bella, and I were playing, he would address us as 'Ladies and germs'.

The three of us laughed as we stepped inside the house. I heard someone's fumbling steps coming down the stairs. A young, teenage girl, with a pale face and chocolate brown hair and eyes, ran down the stairs. She stood behind Charlie and beamed, she must've heard the conversation.

"Oh my god, Jake, Noah, its been so long. Leah and I talk about you two all the time" Bella squealed.

I laughed and stepped forward to hug her. She hugged me back warmly. Jake and Leah then took turns getting their hugs.

"Why don't you kids go ahead and settle down on the couch, while I get you something to eat" Charlie suggested.

We nodded and plopped on top of the couch. Bella and I sat next to each other, while Leah snuggled next to Jake, and he wrapped his arm around her. We talked about how we have been, and Jake being Jake had to tell Bella that I was seeing some hot chic named Katie. I blushed, but Bella just nodded. Charlie came in a little while later and gave us tacos. He told us that Bella made them this afternoon, and Bells blushed when I complemented her. My compliment was true, the tacos were amazing. Charlie had work the next day, so he went to bed at around 9:30. Jake and Leah were getting very lovey dovey, so I followed Bells to the kitchen to help her.

"So, do you know what college you're going too?" I asked her.

"I got into Yale" Bella said very casually.

I nearly jumped. Bella was always a good student, but I didn't expect Yale University.

"Wow, that's awesome Bells"

"What about you, have any idea where you're going?"

"Well I've been taking lots of AP classes, so Addison's expecting me to make it to an Ivy League" I explained.

"How old are you again?" Bella asked while washing some plates.

"17, turning 18 next week" I said proudly while drying her plates.

"So you'll be an adult soon, wow" Bella softly giggled.

Bella definitely looked ordinary, but the way she spoke, the sound of her voice always mesmerized me. I was going to ask Bella if she was seeing someone, but as soon as I looked up, her warm brown eyes met with mine. A sharp hit of guilt and sadness engulfed me. If I missed her so much then why hadn't I called her even once. I had missed her growing up. I knew that she had a crush on me when we were kids, but I didn't mean to avoid her. We both missed a large portion of our childhood with each other.

"Stay" She said.

I wanted nothing more than to just stay and talk with her all night about our lives.

"I can't" I whispered.

"Why?" She whispered back, almost desperately.

"I can't tell you" It's true, I couldn't tell her about the threat of vampires.

She was going to protest when I heard the third whisper.

"Why are you whispering?" Bells and I both jumped from Jake's sudden appearance.

"Jacob you idiot!" I said, grabbing a dish towel and swatting at him.

He laughed and shielded himself with his hands.

"You moron my soul left my body for a second!" Bells gasped.

"Anyways, we have to get going now. Leah has some errands early next morning. We have to drop her and get home before my mom launches an amber alert" Jake joked.

Addison can get very worried for no reason at all.

"Ok, you go I'll be right there" Jacob complied and took Leah by the hand. They then walked out to the car.

I washed my hands and turned to look at Bella. She was leaning back on the counter top, with a sad expression on her face. I walked over to her and pushed the corner of her mouth up to a forced smile. I chuckled. Her expression went sad again. My heart hurt, even though we hadn't seen each other for a long time, old habits die hard. I had to make her feel better before I left. I found a pen on the counter and wrote my number on her hand, and in response she wrote hers. I smiled, but she didn't return it, so I bent down and pecked her on the cheek. When I looked at her this time her face was was flushed and a smile was beginning to spread across her face.

"I'll call you tomorrow after school." And with that I left.