FicWad

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Oh yeah, I had a crappy week-I mean really awful, but I hope this chapter is decent.

"Erm....hi," I squeak, as I find myself staring into his gorgeous hazel eyes, which at this moment look a shade darker then normal. I recall what I was about to do with Jacob and feel a stab of guilt. Had I really been about to kiss him? Especially since I had just minutes before told Gerard I loved him. What is wrong with me? I blush and look at the floor, feeling terrible. I wonder fretfully whether Gerard witnessed what had just been about to take place, then disregard it-no, if he had seen that he would probably just have killed Jacob on the spot.

I can feel his eyes boring into me but there's no way in hell I'm risking looking at him. There is way too much stuff I could "accidently" tell him while lost in his gaze. "Stella," he murmurs silkily. "Don't be afraid of me." He steps closer to me and tries to take my hand. I gasp when an arm snakes roughly around my waist and drags me away.

"Don't touch her!" snarls Jacob, his arm remains locked securely around my middle.

I watch Gerard close his eyes for a second, I think he is trying to compose himself. His hands are clenched into tight firsts and his body is as still as a statue. His brothers stare at him nervously, which makes me nervous, I mean, they're vampires and they are afraid of him. I should be petrified!

He opens them a few minutes later and takes a step closer. Jacob responds by taking a step back, pulling me with him. I look around us, Bob and Ray are standing behind us, we can't go any further-I think Gerard knows that because a smirk appears on his face.

"You're not going anywhere," he says cockily. "Just give her to me and we'll go easy on you," he promises. But I can see he is lying-his eyes are narrowed to slits and barely contain his hatred.

"You'll have to kill me first," replies Jacob evenly, and I flinch which does not go unnoticed by anyone.

"It doesn't have to come to that," says Gerard. I see Mikey glance at him quickly then look away. That's when I know he is lying-that they do intend to kill Jacob tonight. I realize I am the only one who can stop that from happening so decide to kick some ass-verbally, that is.

"Right, that's it!" I say and shake myself free from Jacobs grip. Like in the cafeteria not so long ago, I stand between them as a barrier to separate them from tearing each other apart. "This is ridiculous! No one is going to kill anyone." I say with as much force as I can muster.

"Stay out of this, Stella," sighs Gerard.

"I will not!" I reply stubbornly and he runs his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I'm not going to let anyone get hurt over me."

"Stella...," warns Jacob

"No! We are going to discuss this like adults," I say firmly. "And that's that." I fold my arms and glare at them all, daring them to challenge me. They don't.

"Fine," grumbles Gerard, and I hear a cry of disappointment from his camp.

"Okay, first of all, what are you doing here?" I ask him.

"I was told the slayer would be meeting you here tonight, so we were," he pauses, looking sheepish. "Going to jump him."

"What?!" I cry in outrage. "Why?"

Gerard looks at me like I'm slow. "Because he's using you to try to destroy me and my family."

My throat goes dry and I stare at him. He stares back at me but there is not a hint of anger there. "About that...," I begin, totally flustered.

"You don't have to explain, Stella. I know it was all his idea and he manipulated you into feeling guilty and responsible for this town so you would do it." He actually smiles at me. "I'm not angry with you at all. In fact, I quite enjoyed it. It was a pleasant experience," he tells me with a raised eyebrow and I have a sneaky feeling he is referring to that fateful night where I faked a naughty dream about him. I blush and he smirks.

"Don't act like you didn't use our plan to your gain, vampire," interrupts Jacob angrily. "You manipulated her shamelessly so she would fall in love with you."

"It worked didn't it?" pipes in Frank happily. "Now she loves him and everyone can live happily ever after, well, after you're dead," he says nodding in Jacob's direction.

"No-one is being killed tonight!" I yell in frustration.

Frank rolls his eyes. "We'll make it quick. He won't feel a thing. Much," he promises.

"Gerard. Don't," I implore.

"It's already been decided," Frank tells me gently. "We're gonna break his neck, or something of that nature."

"You shut your mouth, you hobbit!" I yell, rounding on him furiously. "No one is hurting Jacob-you'll have to go through me first!" I declare defiantly.

"I resent being called a hobbit!" he cries, sounding affronted. "They have hairy feet!"

"Frank," warns Gerard, and there is silence.

"I won't let you hurt him," I repeat. I shift closer to Jacob and take his hand in mine protectively. Gerard looks like he's going to explode with rage but I don't care-I won't let them hurt a hair on Jacob's head.

"Can you believe the nerve of this girl?" I hear Mikey's cruel voice slash through the air like a knife. "After everything she's put Gerard through, he still accepts her but that's not good enough for our little human, is it? She has to defend her pathetic little vampire slayer, who, by the way, couldn't slay a wasp to save his life."

"Mikey, you're not helping," snaps Gerard.

"I've helped enough. I let you beat me up, remember? All for her sake," he sniffs in disgust.

I turn to him in shock. "You really hate me? I thought that was all an act."

He snorts. "No. I hate your guts, little girl. You are nothing but trouble."

Jacob grips my hand tighter. "You watch your disgusting mouth."

"Ooh, what are you going to do? Set your little girlfriend on me?" Mikey chuckles in amusement.

"That's enough!" shouts Gerard and Mikey quietens down.

"I want you all to go away," I say looking directly at Gerard. "Just leave me alone."

"Now look what you've done!" complains Frank. "You've upset her! You know what human girls are like, all emotional and shit."

"Stella...," begins Gerard in a soothing tone.

"No. Go away. I want to be alone," I insist. It may be a little harsh but it's the only thing I can think of that will save Jacob from them.

"You heard her," says Jacob with satisfaction. "She wants you to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere," replies Gerard resolutely. "Not until I've sorted things out with Stella."

"Dude! Are we gonna stand here all night?" Frank complains, hopping up and down like a rabbit. "I wanna watch Halloween."

"You've seen that a million times," Bob says, sounding bored.

"Yeah, it sucks, man," chimes in Ray.

"You're right, what about American Psycho?" Frank giggles. "I love the chainsaw scene. Dude runs down the hall butt naked!"

"Frank!" Gerard looks at him. "Make that the last time you interrupt me."

"I'm going inside and Jacob's coming with me," I declare, suddenly really very tired of them all.

"No, he's not." says Gerard flatly.

"Yes, he is. I don't trust you guys not to hurt him, so he's staying with me tonight."

"I can take care of myself, Stella," frowns Jacob.

"There is no way I'm letting him stay with you all night," says Gerard stiffly.

"Why not?" snipes Mikey. "She let you stay all night, why not him?"

"Whoa." Jacob spins me around so we are facing one another. "Since when did I say it was safe to allow a vampire to stay over all night?" he demands.

"She was never in any danger," snaps Gerard.

"You stay out of this. Answer me Stella. Why did you let him stay over?" he gives me a little shake.

"Don't shake her, dog," growls Gerard and grabs me by my arm and pulls me towards him.

Jacob has a firm hold on my other arm and refuses to let go. I stand between them, arms outstretched like a helpless rag doll being fought over by bickering children. I get pulled in one direction then another until I feel my arms are going to come out of their sockets. Then I lose it completely.

"LET GO OF ME!" I scream. They both do simultaneously, looking shocked at my outburst.

"THAT'S IT! I've had enough! You know what? You can both go to hell, kill each other, rip each other apart-I don't care. Just leave me out of it! I'm going inside and if anyone follows me, so help me God, I will blow your brains out with my dads gun and I don't care if you're already dead!"

I have just pushed Mikey out of my way (rather violently, I should add) when Frank wrestles me to the ground. "I've got her! I've got her!" he screams like a maniac whilst straddling me and punching the air in triumph. "Now someone kill the slayer so we can take our new pet home!"

"Get off me, you loon!" I yell furiously. "And how dare you call me your pet?!" I scratch him on the arms and he giggles hysterically.

"Ooh, she's tickling me!" he laughs wildly.

I'm about to gauge his eyes out when someone grabs him and throws him across the forest. He goes flying through the air and hits a tree with a thump. A human would have been killed instantly, but not Frank, he gets up swiftly and puts his hands on his hips.

"That was so not cool, Gee. You've wrecked my hair now," he pats his head looking upset.

Gerard ignores him and helps me to my feet. I snatch my arm away and glare at him. "Why did he call me a pet? Is that what you think of me?" I demand.

"No, Stella, I don't," he implores. "Franks brain is damaged, you see. He always says things he really shouldn't." He gives Frank a dirty look.

"No, Stella. It's the truth, Gerard would only treat you like a slave," interjects Jacob, suddenly by my side. "He doesn't respect you. To him, you are just something to enjoy until he gets bored again."

Gerard hisses angrily. "That is utter rubbish," he snarls. "I have nothing but respect for Stella."

"Respect," Jacob scoffs. "You don't know the meaning of the word." The two men glare at each other, their bodies stiff with rage. "I know everything about you, Gerard. Everything," Jacob says meaningfully. Gerard looks away into the darkness.

"What are you trying to say, Jacob?" I ask him curiously. I hate it when I don't know something.

"It's a story for another day, Stella," he replies mysteriously.

"Uh uh, you tell me what you know right now," I insist stubbornly, forgetting that I'm supposed to be mad at them all for being crazy people. Gerard looks at the ground. For the first time since we met I see he looks nervous, which takes my curiosity up another few notches. "What don't I know?"

"If you insist, Stella," Jacob sighs and Gerard closes his eyes, like someone who knows he's been caught. "It seems Gerard hasn't been entirely honest with you," he pauses and gazes at Gerard who squirms uncomfortably, something Jacob looks like he is enjoying.

"What do you mean?"

"Gerard conveniently forgot to mention something important to you," Jacob actually smiles while my heart does a frantic little backflip in my chest.

"Just spit it out, Jacob. What don't I know," I plead, feeling scared all of a sudden.

"He didn't tell you he already has a girlfriend. And she's also a vampire."

I go still with shock as his revelation sinks in. I just can't believe it. He has a girlfriend? And she's a vampire? I don't understand anything. Why would he tell me he loves me when he has someone else? My mind races: was Jacob telling the truth? Was Gerard playing games with me all along to amuse himself?

"Stella? Stella?"

I hear someone calling my name, it takes me a while for me to focus on the voice. It belongs to Gerard. He sounds panicked and upset. "It's not what you think, Stella." He tries to touch me but I move away from him, towards Jacob, who puts his arm protectively around my shoulders.

"Stay away from me!" I cry in a near-hysterical voice. "I can't believe this! All this time you pretended you loved me, you had a girlfriend waiting in the sidelines! Why did you do this to me?!" I cry, as tears spill down my face. Any guilt I felt about my near-kiss with Jacob vanishes in a instant. This is a million times worser.

"I can explain everything," Gerard says quickly. "Just please come with me."

"No way!" I shout. "I'm not going anywhere with you. You're a liar."

"Technically," interrupts Frank. "So are you, Stella. You pretended you liked Gee when you didn't."

"Yeah!" I snarl. "But he knew, didn't he? And you lot faked a lot of stuff too!"

"I know!" cries Frank. "That means you guys are perfect for each other. You're both incapable of telling the truth!"

"None of this would have happened if Gerard hadn't started it by telling me he "loved me",
which was a load of crap!" I shout.

"I do love you, Stella. More then you know," he says earnestly.

"Oh, for Gods sake! You can stop acting now, Gerard. I know the truth. This was a game for you. I bet you do it all the time with poor, innocent human girls. Well, when you're going to live forever, you have to do something to pass the time, right?" I say scathingly. "I just feel sorry for your....girlfriend," I choke on the word. "You don't love her either, you don't love anyone. You are a heartless beast." I tear into him and he flinches.

"Stella, please, listen to me," he pleads desperately.

"I can't believe I fell in love with a liar," I whisper softly before turning on my heel and walking away, Jacob close by my side.

I can hear him calling after me but I ignore his cries. I walk like a zombie out of the forest, no longer caring when the branches hit my face, drawing blood. My body is numb and there is a terrible ache in my heart. I just want to crawl into bed and never get out.

When we make it out of the forest a thought enters my head. "How long have you known he has a girlfriend?" I ask Jacob.

"I found out today actually," he replies quietly. "I'm sorry about all of this, Stella. I really am, I had no clue they were going to show up like this. And I certainly wasn't planning on telling you like that."

"It's not your fault," I mutter as he walks me to my front door. "It's all his fault." I wipe my face, unable to even say his name out loud.

Jacob sighs. "I don't want to leave you like this."

"I'll be fine," It's not true but I just want to be alone right now. "Will you be okay getting home, I mean, is it safe?"

He smiles darkly. "I don't think Gerard is going to risk upsetting you further by killing me tonight."

I nod and he turns to leave. "Jacob?" He looks at me. "About earlier...,"

"Not now. We'll talk about it later." He smiles before walking away.

I traipse upstairs to my bedroom feeling awful and sit on my bed, staring at the wall forlornly. I can't believe I loved and lost Gerard in one day. And to a girl who is a vampire. I wonder what she looks like, she must be beautiful like the rest of the Sullen's , that thought makes me feel worse.

Why would Gerard even like someone like me when he's got a badass vampire girlfriend out there somewhere? I'm just a silly human teenager. He must have thought I was so easy and stupid to play with. I mean, I couldn't even trick him without him knowing about it. My little plans must given him some good laughs.

I get up angrily and storm to the window. There is no way he's coming into my bedroom tonight. I lock it securely and move to lock my bedroom door-he's not watching me sleep tonight, or ever again.

I lie back on my bed as thoughts of Gerard flash cruelly inside my mind. I close my eyes and cry myself to sleep.

Ooh! bet ya never saw that coming, did ya? Will Gerard and Stella ever be able to love each other in peace? Or will Jacob and this other girl tear them apart forever?....