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Post by Jacob Black on Aug 16, 2008 16:31:31 GMT -5
Was there such a thing called 'family bonding' anymore? In the compact vicinity that made up the Black's kitchen, Jacob couldn't agree less. The times of neutral camaraderie were dead and buried, something to note in a dusty history book. He had stared at his father with a hint of indignation, unable to believe what he was hearing. What was he, the king's messenger? Though he had liked the idea of visiting Bella, his dislike for the obvious reasons behind it tipped the scales. He'd rather stay home than face the humiliation. He'd already been there, done that, and wasn't sinking down to that level again. Not that he wasn't awarded for his efforts before. His nearly restored car was satisfactory. But that's beside the point.
Billy's expression had hardened in earnest, answering the prolonged silence with calm authority, "I can't turn my back on potential threats. The treaty doesn't safeguard anyone. Both sides respect the agreement, but that doesn't mean that it can't be broken. The costs are too great to be taking any chances.. a life."
The last two words had settled in the room, seeming to echo their significance. With a resigned sigh, Jacob had leaned back, letting go of a debate that he could never win. "I'm not saying I believe any of this mumbo jumbo that you're feeding me. Anyway, as I see that you're a small step away from grabbing a pitchfork and raiding the Cullens' house, I'll save you the jail time and go. An hour of reciting your rants has got to be better than trying to convince Charlie to bail you out."
At least, that was what he thought before he pulled into the Swans' driveway. The house suddenly looked daunting, though there was nothing abnormal about it. In fact, there wasn't anything strange in the entire Olympic Peninsula besides his father's state of mind. Even when he tried his best to console him, he couldn't shut off the feeling that there was something unspoken between them. Despite all of the oddities that his father enjoyed, Jacob couldn't help thinking that there were still secrets kept quiet.
Maybe it was better that way.
He helped Billy into his wheel chair, letting him get comfortable before heading towards the front porch. His eyes were unfocused; heat rose to his face at the thought of what he had to do. Again. Suddenly, he felt a sharp, reassuring squeeze encompass his clenched fingers, and his eyes strayed to meet his dad's serious gaze, reading the unspoken message there.
Yeah, it was definitely better this way.
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Post by Bella Swan on Aug 17, 2008 0:36:05 GMT -5
Bella was rubbing a marinade into some chicken breasts and praying that a simple dinner would work for Charlie tonight. He had come home about ten minutes ago, complaining about something or another that happened at work -- probably the reason why the poor guy had been working double shifts lately. So she decided that it would probably be best to keep things simple and quick tonight so that Charlie could relax and take his mind off of things before bed.
Finishing that task, she moved the chicken to the pan and went to wash her hands. Truth be told, this was probably the only thing she was going to miss when she finally convinced Edward to turn her -- taking care of her parents. Sure they had their differences from time to time and sure they were all more like friends than family, but in some way all of this made her feel good.
Sighing, she picked up the pan and stuck it in the oven. Then she put the macaroni and cheese on the stove next to the corn on the cob. A nice small, simple dinner to ease any tension Charlie might be feeling. With that done, she walked into the living room where Charlie had went to watch an old ball game.
"Dad, dinner will be done in about 45 minutes," she said as she came up behind his chair.
"Okay Bells. It smells good already," he said with a smile.
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Post by Jacob Black on Aug 17, 2008 13:10:09 GMT -5
At this not too subtle reminder of his mission, Jacob heaved a sigh, summoning up some nerve as well as suppressing the urge to argue further. "You owe me big for this one," he muttered bitterly, "I don't walk around under the pretense of a mediator for free." Billy just nodded, obviously satisfied with their little arrangement, and withdrew his hand from his son's tense hold.
They were at once bathed in the yellow beam from the porch light. The day had reached its closing curtain, leaving the last traces of dusk under the predictable layer of clouds, and he felt exposed after the dark car ride over here. He took a step off to the side as Billy rang the doorbell, trying his best to be invisible, though with a tall, intimidating height such as he had, that was clutching at air. Muted footsteps coming from inside reached his ears, and he perked up a little. He waited expectantly, the prospects of seeing that unforgettable face shedding some hope on the mess he'd gotten into.
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Post by Bella Swan on Aug 17, 2008 13:25:46 GMT -5
Bella rolled her eyes at her father. "Dad, I just put it in the oven, you shouldn't be able to smell anything yet," she said with a laugh. Turning to head back towards the kitchen, she was caught off guard by the ringing of the door bell.
"Hmm, wonder who that is at this time," she muttered to herself before turning in the direction of the front door. "I got it, Dad," she called out. Opening the door, she felt a smile cross her face.
"Hey Billy, Jacob. What brings you two by?" she asked.
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Post by Jacob Black on Aug 17, 2008 22:43:19 GMT -5
All regret for coming had ebbed into an afterthought the moment he saw Bella peer out at them. He pushed Billy carefully pass the threshold, hearing him give a gruff apology that Charlie could undoubtedly hear, "Sorry to stop in late and without notice. I wanted to make it over here before the second inning." And with that, he wheeled himself into the other room where the T.V. awaited.
"Hey, Bella," Jacob smiled, his gaze meeting hers eagerly, "Hope you don't mind the company. Billy can be kinda choosy about when and where he watches the game."
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Post by Bella Swan on Aug 17, 2008 22:48:09 GMT -5
"Hey, Billy, you're just in time," she heard Charlie say from the next room.
Laughing softly and shaking her head she said, "I swear sometimes they're more like kids than we are. Come on, I'm making dinner," she said and headed towards the kitchen. When she got in there, it was just in time to see the water in the pot for the corn on the cob begin to boil.
"30 minutes, Dad," she called. Turning down the heat on both burners and checking the chicken, she turned to Jacob.
"Are you all staying for dinner? There's enough for four," she said with a smile.
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Post by Jacob Black on Aug 17, 2008 23:14:58 GMT -5
He followed her into the kitchen and hovered on the edge there, watching her move from one food item to the next like a pro. "I'm guessing so, as I cleared everything in the pantry except for the spider webs this morning. In any case, this looks like gourmet cooking compared to my usual delicacies," he said, chuckling, "still, need any help? I may not be the best chef, but I can make a mean piece of toast."
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Post by Bella Swan on Aug 17, 2008 23:19:19 GMT -5
Bella laughed at Jacob's comment. "Sure. The noodles should be done by now. You can drain the water from them, put them in that bowl there," she said, pointing to a medium sized bowl, "add a tablesthingy of butter and about a cup of Velveeta cheese, if you would be so kind," she said, flashing him a smile.
She walked over to the container that held the extra marinade and took it over to the oven. Pulling on an oven mitt, she carefully pulled the rack half way out and brushed the marinade over the chicken. After she closed the oven again, she turned to see if Jacob was having any problems finishing up the mac and cheese.
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Post by Jacob Black on Aug 18, 2008 1:56:07 GMT -5
"Ooh, this may prove to be a challenge. Don't judge too harshly -- this isn't my area of expertise." Jacob grabbed the pot and went over to the sink. Taking the drainer that was sitting conveniently in arm's reach, he dumped the noodles into it, leaning back a little as the steam rose. He shook it a bit, sure to get all the water out. "So, how are things going? You must be pretty excited, with your last year of school coming up and all. Have any plans for afterwards or are you just going to wing it?"
He began scrounging around the cupboard for a measuring cup, and finally came out victorious. At this point he noticed Bella looking at him, probably to see if he'd already ruined her cuisine, and he couldn't help grinning. "Don't worry, I haven't set anything on fire yet," he held up the bowl he'd recently placed the noodles in as evidence, "See? Not too shabby."
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Post by Bella Swan on Aug 18, 2008 19:20:51 GMT -5
"Do you have any plans for afterwards or are you just going to wing it?"
Bella smirked at this. She knew exactly what he was trying to do. "Actually, I've started looking at colleges. Not too sure what I want to do or where I want to go, but I'm sure I'll figure it out along the way. Maybe cooking now that I think about it. It's something that I'm already good at and it's fun," she said with a shrug.
Rolling her eyes at Jacob's comment about not setting anything on fire, she went back to what she was doing. She moved the cobs of corn around a bit so that they would all evenly cook. "I didn't think that you were going to set anything on fire. All I asked you to do was drain the noodles and add the cheese," she said, going over to look at what he had done. With a grimace on her face she said, "Oops, forgot to tell you to add milk too," she laughed, "just alternate between pouring and stirring until its all creamy."
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Post by Jacob Black on Aug 19, 2008 17:37:11 GMT -5
Jacob returned to his part in preparing the meal, picking up the cheese and doing as directed. "I know, I'm just sorting out the possibilities. Some people can do the simplest tasks and still cause some damage." He grimaced at this and pretended to be distracted with stirring the macaroni. How could he go about doing this? Best-case scenario he'd get a laugh, maybe even some sympathy at his dad's expense.
The sudden cheers that erupted from the television set in the other room didn't help rein in his anxiety, as he was once again reminded of the true reason for being here. He trudged over to the refrigerator to get the milk, meanwhile calculating. Well, now was better than later. Drawing in a deep breath, Jacob continued to look quite engaged in adding the milk into the bowl, secretly hoping that his discomfort wouldn't betray him. "College is a good, even if you're unsure of what you want to do. Look at your options first," his voice grew increasingly nonchalant, "I'm guessing Cullen will be shooting for a college education too? Or are you both not so serious to worry about that just yet?"
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Post by Bella Swan on Aug 19, 2008 22:03:13 GMT -5
Bella rolled her eyes and was glad that her back was to him, because she was beginning to have trouble in hiding her annoyance with him on this subject.
"I'm actually not sure what Edward's plans are. He hasn't really said much about it. We still do have senior year to think about all of this," she said as if it made all the sense in the world. Just because Edward wasn't happy with her decision and she was still trying to convince him, didn't mean that she wasn't going to get her alibi -- and his -- set up for when the inevitable happened.
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Post by Jacob Black on Aug 20, 2008 0:42:41 GMT -5
"That's true. No reason to have anything set in stone, right?" Jacob exhaled in relief. Maybe he wouldn't have to worry about this for long, or at all for that matter -- it could end on its own. Still, the prospects of Billy's glare at the dinner table didn't exactly win him over. He discovered that the bowl in front of him was now full of finely mixed macaroni, so that couldn't be used as a diversion. Spinning around, he leaned against the counter and folded his arms casually. "So.. do you think that it could come to that? Serious, I mean." Just say no and we can drop it.
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