Undertow
Title: Undertow
Author: audreyii_fic
Fandom: Twilight (Team Jacob)
Rating: K
Characters: Jacob, Bella, others
Genre: Friendship, Hurt/Comfort
Summary:
Charlie hadn't been kidding. Bella is a zombie. (Written for the JBNP All I Want For Christmas Contest. Set mid-New Moon. Arguably canon-compliant.)
A/N: I needed a little smutbreak. Also majestamoniet and likexaxdove got me all defensive over Jacob's hair.
Undertow
you better learn your lesson yourself / nobody ever has to find out what's in my mind tonight
Warpaint, "Undertow"
i.
Charlie hadn't been kidding. Bella is a zombie.
Okay, it's not like she doesn't talk or anything. Jacob can carry on a conversation with her, sort of. It's mostly like this:
Hey, Bella.
Hi.
How are you?
Okay. How are you?
I'm fine. School's kind of a mess, my biology teacher has it out for me because I argued about this one lab report-- Jacob stops at that point because her eyes glazed over somewhere around fine and now she's staring off into space again.
Overall it's shaping up to be a strange sort of Christmas dinner.
ii.
Billy announced on December twenty-fourth that the Swans would be coming over on December twenty-fifth. Jacob couldn't figure out why, but when he asked all Billy needed to say was:
I want Charlie to talk to Sue and Harry.
Jacob understood.
The Clearwaters always came over for Christmas dinner (one of the few things that didn't change after his mother died when it felt like everything had changed), and two months ago Leah Clearwater and Sam Uley broke up. The gossip had been tremendous.
Did you hear? Just dumped her flat and now he's shacked up with that Young girl!
I know! Can you imagine how pissed Leah is?
I heard she almost set the house on fire burning the stuff Sam gave her.
No way!
And so forth.
Harry was at a loss with Leah, and Charlie was at a loss with Bella, and Billy wanted them to talk but Jacob was pretty sure they wouldn't be able to help each other much. Last he'd heard Leah wasn't staring off into space and Bella wasn't lighting things on fire.
iii.
Sue brings dinner and it's really good. Jacob does think her turkey is a little dry (his mother always basted hers every twenty minutes and he can tell that Sue doesn't) but the cranberry sauce is great. He's hungry all the time these days -- all the time, no kidding, Billy can't keep enough food in the house -- but for once he's not the only one wolfing down plate after plate. Leah and Seth are plowing through the food too, getting seconds and thirds and fourths of mashed potatoes.
Sue laughs about growing teenagers. Harry and Billy exchange mysterious looks. Rachel rolls her eyes as she loads up on steamed broccoli. Charlie picks at his stuffing. Bella doesn't eat at all.
Bella doesn't look like she's eaten in months.
After dinner the adults break up from the kids. Billy and Harry are muttering quietly to themselves in the corner; Sue has Charlie in the kitchen, talking to him in gentle tones. Rachel and Leah disappear into the twins' old room and every now and then Jacob hears a shouted curse or something that sounds like a sob. Seth falls asleep on the couch, OD'ed on tryptophan.
Bella stares out the window.
iv.
Jacob spent time with Bella when they were little; she was the pale, pretty girl who turned up in the summer and didn't tease him or leave him behind like his sisters did. She didn't talk much -- and she obviously didn't really like being with her dad -- but she'd play in the yard with him sometimes while their parents talked about whatever it was grownups talked about. He would build forts out of dead branches and she would come up with elaborate stories that always seemed to involve running away. She stopped coming when he was ten, just around the time his mother died (why wouldn't she stop coming then after all) but Jacob didn't forget about her.
So of course he was excited when he heard she was moving to Forks.
He ran into her on the beach; she was still pale and pretty, but this time she wanted him to tell stories. He did. He would have even if she hadn't looked up at him from under her lashes that way, but it was definitely a bonus.
Then he went to her prom because his father was being insane and stupid but was offering up the last piece of the Rabbit as a bribe and who could say no to that? She looked different in the fancy dress, beautiful but very strange for her, and she was with the guy his father was freaked out about. And she was with Cullen, not just with him but really really with him, any idiot could see it.
Jacob was surprised by how much that sucked.
v.
Bella?
Hmm?
Want to go see the Rabbit?
The what?
My car. Remember, I told you? My dad finally let me work on it because you bought the truck? You were keeping an eye out for parts?
Oh. All right.
Jacob's relieved when she follows him to the garage. At least there he can work on the engine while she sits. Better than awkward small talk, anyhow.
She sits on the work bench and watches.
Okay, so the new spanner... He starts to babble just to fill up the silence. He pretends he's giving a lecture, pretends she's listening. But then again, maybe she is. Jacob's really not sure how much is getting through to her at the moment. He can talk about cars for hours, though, so it won't be too quiet. Jacob doesn't like quiet.
Twenty minutes later Bella speaks.
You smile a lot.
He blinks and looks at her; she's got her head tilted to the side and she's looking at his face like it's an interesting puzzle. He realizes that she hasn't been watching him work on the engine, she's been watching him and that's a different thing.
I guess, yeah. Why wouldn't I? It's Christmas, right?
It is?
Jacob's eyes widen.
vi.
When the Cullens left town Billy ordered fires be lit in celebration. Jacob managed not to call the old man a lunatic, but it was a near thing; anyway it would have just led to a lecture about respect and tradition and blah, blah, blah. Jacob was of the opinion that there were certain traditions that should be allowed to die. Like the ones that made no sense and forced him to humiliate himself at the prom in front of pretty girls.
Speaking of pretty girls...
Within a few weeks Charlie started calling Billy about Bella. Billy had had two daughters who had been through their share of breakups, and Jacob listened to him give advice on the phone, mostly comprised of assurances that it was all very normal, teenage girls were capable of a lot of drama and overreaction, it would pass. But every time Billy hung up the phone he looked grave.
Jacob wanted to go over and talk to her and see if he could help. Jacob was good at fixing things. Billy said no.
So all he could do was wonder until Christmas.
vii.
If it were anyone else he'd assume it was sarcasm, but this is Zombie Bella.
Um, yeah. It's Christmas, Bells, didn't you know that? December twenty-fifth? ('Bells' rolls off his tongue without him even realizing it.)
It's December?
Oh my God, yes, it's December. Please tell me you're kidding, Bella.
Hmm.
Jacob is completely at a loss and more than a little freaked out. He sits down next to her on the work bench and peers into her eyes, weirdly enough hoping that she's on drugs or something because if this is just naturally the way her head is working then that is bad.
Her pupils look fine, at least. But she seems... foggy. And she gazes at him like she's not quite sure he's really there.
Then she reaches up, lifts a lock of his hair from his shoulder, and starts absently braiding it.
Jacob freezes. He remembers Charlie mentioning something like this -- that Bella will sometimes do things with her hands, like fold a napkin over and over and over. Charlie had said it during one of the more recent conversations, one of the ones where the word hospital was used. At the time Jacob thought it was total overreaction, but now he doesn't blame Charlie for thinking hospital because he's thinking it too.
He slides off the bench onto the floor, sits cross-legged in front of her, allows her to pull the rest of his hair free from its rubber band. It falls over his back and his face, heavy and black and thick. Rachel's been nagging him to cut it. She offers to do it herself, says she can wield a pair of scissors just as well as their mother could. He won't let her.
Bella gently runs her fingernails along his scalp, combing out little tangles Jacob hadn't realized were there. She hums something tuneless to herself and his eyes drift shut.
They stay in the garage for the rest of the afternoon.
viii.
The next time Jacob sees Bella it only takes about thirty seconds for him to realize that she doesn't remember Christmas at all.
A few weeks later, when Sam cuts his hair, he cries.
Author: audreyii_fic
Fandom: Twilight (Team Jacob)
Rating: K
Characters: Jacob, Bella, others
Genre: Friendship, Hurt/Comfort
Summary:
Charlie hadn't been kidding. Bella is a zombie. (Written for the JBNP All I Want For Christmas Contest. Set mid-New Moon. Arguably canon-compliant.)
A/N: I needed a little smutbreak. Also majestamoniet and likexaxdove got me all defensive over Jacob's hair.
Undertow
you better learn your lesson yourself / nobody ever has to find out what's in my mind tonight
Warpaint, "Undertow"
i.
Charlie hadn't been kidding. Bella is a zombie.
Okay, it's not like she doesn't talk or anything. Jacob can carry on a conversation with her, sort of. It's mostly like this:
Hey, Bella.
Hi.
How are you?
Okay. How are you?
I'm fine. School's kind of a mess, my biology teacher has it out for me because I argued about this one lab report-- Jacob stops at that point because her eyes glazed over somewhere around fine and now she's staring off into space again.
Overall it's shaping up to be a strange sort of Christmas dinner.
ii.
Billy announced on December twenty-fourth that the Swans would be coming over on December twenty-fifth. Jacob couldn't figure out why, but when he asked all Billy needed to say was:
I want Charlie to talk to Sue and Harry.
Jacob understood.
The Clearwaters always came over for Christmas dinner (one of the few things that didn't change after his mother died when it felt like everything had changed), and two months ago Leah Clearwater and Sam Uley broke up. The gossip had been tremendous.
Did you hear? Just dumped her flat and now he's shacked up with that Young girl!
I know! Can you imagine how pissed Leah is?
I heard she almost set the house on fire burning the stuff Sam gave her.
No way!
And so forth.
Harry was at a loss with Leah, and Charlie was at a loss with Bella, and Billy wanted them to talk but Jacob was pretty sure they wouldn't be able to help each other much. Last he'd heard Leah wasn't staring off into space and Bella wasn't lighting things on fire.
iii.
Sue brings dinner and it's really good. Jacob does think her turkey is a little dry (his mother always basted hers every twenty minutes and he can tell that Sue doesn't) but the cranberry sauce is great. He's hungry all the time these days -- all the time, no kidding, Billy can't keep enough food in the house -- but for once he's not the only one wolfing down plate after plate. Leah and Seth are plowing through the food too, getting seconds and thirds and fourths of mashed potatoes.
Sue laughs about growing teenagers. Harry and Billy exchange mysterious looks. Rachel rolls her eyes as she loads up on steamed broccoli. Charlie picks at his stuffing. Bella doesn't eat at all.
Bella doesn't look like she's eaten in months.
After dinner the adults break up from the kids. Billy and Harry are muttering quietly to themselves in the corner; Sue has Charlie in the kitchen, talking to him in gentle tones. Rachel and Leah disappear into the twins' old room and every now and then Jacob hears a shouted curse or something that sounds like a sob. Seth falls asleep on the couch, OD'ed on tryptophan.
Bella stares out the window.
iv.
Jacob spent time with Bella when they were little; she was the pale, pretty girl who turned up in the summer and didn't tease him or leave him behind like his sisters did. She didn't talk much -- and she obviously didn't really like being with her dad -- but she'd play in the yard with him sometimes while their parents talked about whatever it was grownups talked about. He would build forts out of dead branches and she would come up with elaborate stories that always seemed to involve running away. She stopped coming when he was ten, just around the time his mother died (why wouldn't she stop coming then after all) but Jacob didn't forget about her.
So of course he was excited when he heard she was moving to Forks.
He ran into her on the beach; she was still pale and pretty, but this time she wanted him to tell stories. He did. He would have even if she hadn't looked up at him from under her lashes that way, but it was definitely a bonus.
Then he went to her prom because his father was being insane and stupid but was offering up the last piece of the Rabbit as a bribe and who could say no to that? She looked different in the fancy dress, beautiful but very strange for her, and she was with the guy his father was freaked out about. And she was with Cullen, not just with him but really really with him, any idiot could see it.
Jacob was surprised by how much that sucked.
v.
Bella?
Hmm?
Want to go see the Rabbit?
The what?
My car. Remember, I told you? My dad finally let me work on it because you bought the truck? You were keeping an eye out for parts?
Oh. All right.
Jacob's relieved when she follows him to the garage. At least there he can work on the engine while she sits. Better than awkward small talk, anyhow.
She sits on the work bench and watches.
Okay, so the new spanner... He starts to babble just to fill up the silence. He pretends he's giving a lecture, pretends she's listening. But then again, maybe she is. Jacob's really not sure how much is getting through to her at the moment. He can talk about cars for hours, though, so it won't be too quiet. Jacob doesn't like quiet.
Twenty minutes later Bella speaks.
You smile a lot.
He blinks and looks at her; she's got her head tilted to the side and she's looking at his face like it's an interesting puzzle. He realizes that she hasn't been watching him work on the engine, she's been watching him and that's a different thing.
I guess, yeah. Why wouldn't I? It's Christmas, right?
It is?
Jacob's eyes widen.
vi.
When the Cullens left town Billy ordered fires be lit in celebration. Jacob managed not to call the old man a lunatic, but it was a near thing; anyway it would have just led to a lecture about respect and tradition and blah, blah, blah. Jacob was of the opinion that there were certain traditions that should be allowed to die. Like the ones that made no sense and forced him to humiliate himself at the prom in front of pretty girls.
Speaking of pretty girls...
Within a few weeks Charlie started calling Billy about Bella. Billy had had two daughters who had been through their share of breakups, and Jacob listened to him give advice on the phone, mostly comprised of assurances that it was all very normal, teenage girls were capable of a lot of drama and overreaction, it would pass. But every time Billy hung up the phone he looked grave.
Jacob wanted to go over and talk to her and see if he could help. Jacob was good at fixing things. Billy said no.
So all he could do was wonder until Christmas.
vii.
If it were anyone else he'd assume it was sarcasm, but this is Zombie Bella.
Um, yeah. It's Christmas, Bells, didn't you know that? December twenty-fifth? ('Bells' rolls off his tongue without him even realizing it.)
It's December?
Oh my God, yes, it's December. Please tell me you're kidding, Bella.
Hmm.
Jacob is completely at a loss and more than a little freaked out. He sits down next to her on the work bench and peers into her eyes, weirdly enough hoping that she's on drugs or something because if this is just naturally the way her head is working then that is bad.
Her pupils look fine, at least. But she seems... foggy. And she gazes at him like she's not quite sure he's really there.
Then she reaches up, lifts a lock of his hair from his shoulder, and starts absently braiding it.
Jacob freezes. He remembers Charlie mentioning something like this -- that Bella will sometimes do things with her hands, like fold a napkin over and over and over. Charlie had said it during one of the more recent conversations, one of the ones where the word hospital was used. At the time Jacob thought it was total overreaction, but now he doesn't blame Charlie for thinking hospital because he's thinking it too.
He slides off the bench onto the floor, sits cross-legged in front of her, allows her to pull the rest of his hair free from its rubber band. It falls over his back and his face, heavy and black and thick. Rachel's been nagging him to cut it. She offers to do it herself, says she can wield a pair of scissors just as well as their mother could. He won't let her.
Bella gently runs her fingernails along his scalp, combing out little tangles Jacob hadn't realized were there. She hums something tuneless to herself and his eyes drift shut.
They stay in the garage for the rest of the afternoon.
viii.
The next time Jacob sees Bella it only takes about thirty seconds for him to realize that she doesn't remember Christmas at all.
A few weeks later, when Sam cuts his hair, he cries.