Running Up That Hill (Jacob/Angela)
Title: Running Up That Hill
Author:
cozette_sora
Rating: G
Genre: Romance
Characters/Pairings: Jacob Black/Angela Weber
Short summary: There is thunder in our hearts. Jacob has an encounter on the beach one stormy night. Oneshot. Set just after Eclipse.
Any warnings: This is my first Twilight fic ever, so I apologize if it's a little rough. I'm also sorry if it doesn't seem to make much sense. The two people who read this and kind of betad it for me didn't seem to really get what was going on. Hopefully that isn't the case with everyone, but I still thought I'd warn you just in case.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.
Running Up That Hill
“You, you and me
You and me won't be unhappy…
And if I only could
Make a deal with God
And get him to swap our places
Be running up that road
Be running up that hill
With no problems”
-- Kate Bush, Running Up That Hill
Jacob Black sighed as he studied the figure sitting alone down the beach from him. Almost unconsciously, he felt himself moving toward her. He knew that he should just leave her and be done with it. He didn't even really know who she was; just some girl visiting La Push for the weekend with her friends. He shouldn’t feel obligated to go see if she was all right. She just looked so small sitting there on the beach, the wind whipping her hair about her face and tearing at her clothes...
A rumble of thunder caused his gaze to flicker to the sky momentarily. There was a storm coming. Well, he couldn't very well leave her out here in the elements, now could he?
The girl didn't look up as he approached her. In fact, she didn't seem to notice him at all until he was right beside her. As it was, he had to clear his throat a couple of times to catch her attention.
Jacob watched with amusement as she looked up at him suddenly, jumping in surprise and nearly falling off the piece of driftwood she was sitting on. She must have seriously been zoning out.
"Hey," he said.
She waited a beat before replying. "Hello." Her voice was soft, unsure.
Jacob frowned as he studied the girl more closely. She looked incredibly familiar. Perhaps she was a regular at La Push. He could have sworn he’d seen her on the beach before. Suddenly, he knew.
"You're Angela, aren’t you? Bella's friend?" He winced. Even mentioning Bella in passing was still difficult for him. He hated that.
The girl blinked, a curious expression on her face. It was almost as if she were surprised that he had actually remembered her name. To be honest, he was a little surprised himself.
After a moment or two, the girl nodded. "I am. And you're Jacob Black." It wasn't a question; she was sure of who he was. However, Jacob wasn't quite so surprised that she’d remembered him. Although he couldn’t recall ever being formally introduced to her, he figured she’d probably learned his name at some point (from Bella, perhaps, but he pushed the thought of her away as quickly as it had come). And this girl seemed like the type who soaked up information like a sponge and never forgot it. He nodded.
"Yeah."
They were both quiet for a moment, just looking at each other. Then Jacob motioned to the spot where she was sitting.
"Mind if I sit down?"
Angela opened her mouth as if to reply, then closed it again. She glanced over her shoulder, and Jacob followed her gaze to a spot on the beach where several people were gathered around a bonfire. When he looked back at Angela again, she gave a small smile and nodded, scooting over to make room for him on the log she was perched on.
Jacob sat down next to her and silence resumed, save for the break of the waves on the shore and the occasional roll of thunder. It wasn't an awkward silence at all, far from it; he was satisfied to simply be in her company, not having to worry about making conversation, and she seemed content as well. That was all they needed right then.
Soon, however, the wind began to really pick up, whirling the sand around and into their eyes. Lightning forked across the sky, followed almost immediately by a resounding crash of thunder. Angela flinched, startled, and without thinking, Jacob scooted closer to her. He stiffened after a moment, realizing that he'd stepped over some invisible boundary, but Angela didn't seem to notice, or if she did, she didn't care. For a moment, he imagined that she had actually moved closer to him as well, imagined that she wasn’t Angela at all, but someone else…
A sudden image of Bella sitting on the beach with him, just like this, so long ago, filled his mind. His heart ached for her. Jacob shook his head. Bella was the one that he loved. Bella was the one he longed to be with right now, not Angela. He couldn’t believe that he’d let the two of them, past and present, reality and fantasy, blend together, if only in that instant. This was crazy. In fact, it was more than crazy, it was wrong.
Jacob moved away then, situating himself as far from Angela as he possibly could. Confusion, mingled with hurt, showed on her face and guilt instantly swept through him.
"I'm sorry," he said, trying to think of some way to explain. "I just can't...I...you see, it's..."
Angela reached out, touching Jacob gently on the shoulder to stop him from going on. He recoiled, ever so slightly, from her touch. He couldn’t help it. It was still too easy for him to picture different eyes studying him so intently, feel someone else’s fingers on his skin. Instantly, Angela pulled her hand back.
"I know, Jacob," she said softly. "It's okay." She smiled gently at him, then turned to gaze out in the direction of the ocean.
Jacob sat quietly for a moment, struggling to think of something he could say to her. He could think of nothing. She ‘knows?’ What could she possibly know about...about... He sighed and looked away from Angela, feeling distinctly embarrassed for some reason he could not name. He thought about getting up and leaving her. The storm was nearly upon them, after all, and he wasn't too keen on the idea of running home in the rain. But he just couldn't bring himself to move. True, this encounter hadn't turned out quite the way he'd initially expected it to, but still... He got the sense that Angela really did know and understand something important about him, something that maybe he himself didn’t quite get, ridiculous though it might seem.
As if in response to his thoughts, he heard her murmur, "You really love her, don't you?"
Jacob tensed, a part of him unsurprised at her sudden observation. Jeez, absolutely nothing got by this girl, did it? Maybe that bloodsucker isn’t the only one who can read people’s minds.
Still, it hurt to know that how he felt was so obvious to her. He decided it was best to remain quiet, knowing there was nothing he could say.
"Oh, Jacob," Angela said softly.
The distress in her voice did not go undetected, and Jacob immediately lifted his head to look at her. Her eyes were wide, and she seemed quite flustered, looking first at him, then at her hands, then at him again.
"Jacob, I'm sorry." Angela's voice was no longer soft. Instead, it was rising in both pitch and speed. "I didn't mean to be so forward, I...I don't normally just speak whatever's on my mind. I shouldn't have said anything; it's none of my business. I really didn't mean to offend you..." she trailed off as her agitation increased, fidgeting uncomfortably in embarrassment.
Jacob blinked, bemused for a moment. Then he smiled as he realized she’d thought his silence had meant that he was upset with her.
Well, maybe she doesn’t know everything after all. "It's no big deal, Angela. You didn't offend me at all."
She narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing him to make sure he was telling the truth. "Really," he insisted. "Actually, you hit the nail right on the head." He'd muttered the last sentence as an afterthought, not really intending for Angela to hear. It was evident, though, by the way her face suddenly fell as she looked at him, that she had heard him anyway. Nothing got by Angela, after all, he remembered somewhat belatedly.
"I'm sorry, Jacob," she said again, her voice low and sincere.
He shrugged, not really having anything else to say about it. Instead, he just looked at her, and she looked back at him.
There was a slight pause then, when the wind seemed to die down and even the waves stopped crashing. It was as if everything was holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen next.
A final clap of thunder sounded, and then the rain came pouring down. Both of them were drenched within seconds, but they still continued to sit there, never taking their eyes off of each other. It was as if some sort of unspoken understanding had just passed between them. Jacob couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but he felt it just the same. He could tell by the way Angela was looking at him that she had felt it too.
It was only when the people further down the beach started calling out for her that Angela finally tore her gaze away. She glanced back at them, then looked at Jacob. "I...I guess I should get going," she said, the reluctance evident in her voice.
Jacob just nodded, watching her as she stood up, taking a few steps back.
"I enjoyed talking to you, Jacob." Angela continued to back away from him, never turning completely around to walk off.
"Same here," Jacob replied, standing up himself. "We should do this again sometime."
Angela stopped walking. Despite the darkness and the distance between them, Jacob could still see the smile spread across her face. "Yes. Yes we should."
"Only next time, we get to discuss your love life."
She laughed, something he'd never heard her do before, and he found himself wishing she would do it again. "Fair enough." Finally, as the shouts from her companions became more insistent, she turned and began walking away.
"Hey, Angela," Jacob called after her.
She instantly stopped walking and turned to face him again. "Yes?"
"What were you doing out here by yourself, anyway?" The question had been nagging at Jacob ever since he’d first seen her, and he was unable to resist asking it now.
Angela was quiet for a moment before responding. "I just needed to get away from them all for a while, you know?" As she said this, she glanced back at the remains of the bonfire, where a lone figure was still standing, calling out her name.
"Yeah, I know." Jacob paused, his eyes on the figure now, as well. "Well, see you around, Ang," he said, slightly surprised at how easily the nickname rolled off his tongue.
Angela was smiling again. "See you around, Jake," she replied softly, before running off into the darkness.
Jacob said nothing else, just watched as Angela reached the person who was waiting for her, giving them a quick hug. As the pair walked to the waiting car, Jacob thought he saw Angela raise her hand towards him in a little wave. He could have been mistaken, though. The rain was getting heavier, making it much more difficult to see. It had probably just been some trick his eyes had played on him. Still, he raised his own hand to wave back, knowing full well that if it was difficult for him to see, it would have been impossible for her to see him at all.
Jacob watched as the car drove off into the night, waiting until its taillights disappeared around a corner before he turned around and started off for home. As he passed the piece of driftwood where he’d been sitting with Angela, he paused for a moment, thinking. Then he shook his head, laughed, and continued on his way.
Fin