Contest entry for the Naughty or Nice Twilight Christmas Contest

Title: Her Best Friend

Pairing: Bella & Edward (further character: Jacob)

Rating: T

Word Count: 8,798

Summary: When Bella falls in love her best friend involuntarily finds himself in a foreign situation. A traditional Christmas love story told from an unconventional point of view.

Disclaimer: Twilight and its inclusive material is copyright to Stephenie Meyer. Original creation, including but not limited to plot and characters, is copyright to the respective authors of each story. No copyright infringement is intended.

Her Best Friend

Life was awesome!

At least it was when Bella Swan was your best friend. She simply was the most amazing person in the world. Honestly, you'll never meet anyone more caring and fun than her.

Every morning I got to wake her by showering her face with hundreds of little kisses. I pecked and licked her smooth cheeks until she giggled awake, opening those soft eyes of hers that were always shining with so much love and joy when she looked at me.

"You're the world's best alarm clock, Jake," she would often praise me.

After getting up, we usually went out for a walk or, if Bella felt up to it, a refreshing jog in the park. There was this huge park right in the middle of the city we lived in, filled with lush bushes, tall trees, and thousands of curious scents to discover. The park was amazing, definitely my favorite place to be, closely followed by our home. Or, wait, was it the other way around? Home, then park? No! Park, then home? Ugh, it's so hard to decide!

Anyway, after the park came breakfast—did I already mention what an incredible cook my Bella was? Well, she was an incredible cook! I had no idea how she did it, but every day, after only a few seconds of clattering in the kitchen she would serve me the most delicious food anyone had ever tasted. And at dinnertime, when I was really lucky, I even got some of her leftovers.

That was my favorite part of the day by the way—no doubts here. When we were at home, lounging on the couch after dinner. Bella usually watched those tiny people moving and talking in the flashy-noise-box while she gently rubbed my full belly.

Ah, pure heaven! What more could a dog ask for?

Life was perfect, and as far as I was concerned, it could have stayed that way forever, and ever, and ever, and—

The well-known jingling of those tiny metal sticks human used to open closed doors woke me from my afternoon nap. I was instantly up, whirled around, and jumped excitedly at the front door.

As always, I had been standing guard at the door while Bella was away for the day. It was a weird habit of hers. On most days she would just leave me shortly after breakfast and come home ages later when the sun was already setting. I had absolutely no idea where she went and why she wouldn't take me with her. I'd tried to follow her several times but she always caught me before I could sneak out behind her. It was all very frustrating. But then it dawned on me that she probably needed me to stay behind to guard our home from intruders. So that's what I did. I stayed at the front door while Bella was away, ready to chase off any trespasser who could invade our home, and I was really good at my job. Not to bark my own horn, but no one's gotten past me yet, not even when I nodded off, which happened very rarely, only like every other day.

The door cracked open, and I was immediately greeted by the balmy fragrance that was unmistakably my Bella.

"Finally!" I barked and backed off a few steps to let her in, bouncing on the spot because I just couldn't contain my excitement.

As soon as she'd closed the door, I jumped at her for a proper greeting. My Bella wasn't very tall so I could easily reach her face for kisses when I stood up on my hind legs. "Where have you been?" I demanded while she turned her face so I could lick her cheek. It felt cold like it did when we were out in the park with the chilly wind howling in my ears this morning. "I missed you so much!"

Bella's returning giggles were the best sound in the world. "Yes, Jake, I missed you too!"

Unfortunately, our happy reunion didn't last long. It was rudely interrupted by the persistent buzzing of her tiny-talking-light-box which every single human seemed to have—even some of their pups had them. She tried to shove me down while fishing for the annoying thing in her pocket, but I was very persistent as well. Hey, I had to spend a whole day without my best friend; I wasn't letting go so easily!

Bella tapped on the box, which stopped the buzzing, and pressed it against her ear. Tonight, the box answered her sweet "Hello?" in a deep male voice—it changed inconsistently which was really disturbing—though I couldn't quite make out the words being said. Bella's reactions to the voice were immediate and kind of weird. Her cheek, which I was still licking, suddenly became much warmer. And when I pulled back to look at her, a huge smile spread across her face. It was even wider than the one she just greeted me with.

What was going on?

"Hi, stranger. Yes, I just got home," Bella said into the box. Her lips were still carrying that gigantic smile. Maybe that's why her voice sounded off—a little deeper than usual, with a whiff of something else, something sweet but also dark at the same time. Something I couldn't quite put my paw on.

I was so confused by her behavior that I didn't put up any fight when Bella pushed me off her this time.

"Not much. I'm quite beat from this eventful coffee break I had today." Bella continued her conversation while slipping out of her coat and shoes. She then went directly into the living room and plopped on the couch, leaving me behind to look from her to the shoes back and forth. Bella never left her shoes out on the floor. She knew how tempting they smelled to me, especially those long ones, like the pair she just took off, the ones that looked like half pant legs, each with a chunky block on one side that magically made her taller.

Casting one last confused and longing look at the shoes so teasingly placed on display right in front of me, I trotted over to Bella and leapt onto the couch right next to her. She was still talking to the voice inside the box, but she at least started stroking along my ears when I put my head on her lap.

Oh, yeah, that's the spot …

"Hmm, I'm usually not a coffee-and-drinks-on-the-same-day kind of girl," she went on. The box-voice said something and Bella laughed. "Of course. Dinner in between would make it much more socially acceptable." More murmuring from the box. "Okay," Bella replied, softer than before. I opened one eye and saw her biting her lip. Odd, she only did that when she was nervous. "I'll text you my address. Give me an hour to get ready? " The box answered something. "Okay," she said in that soft voice again. "See you soon."

She took the box from her ear, and it made that funny clicking sound, which I knew meant she'd finished using it. Finally! I turned onto my back, rubbing my head against her soft tummy in the process, and thereby exposed my own belly to her. My tongue lolled out on one side of my mouth when I looked up at her in anticipation.

Okay, girl, I'm ready. Let's get this party started!

However, instead of having my belly thoroughly rubbed as usual, I suddenly found myself being rolled off the couch and landing unceremoniously on the floor. "Sorry, Jake, not tonight," Bella apologized, but there was a crazy gleam in her eyes that didn't quite fit her words.

"Liar!" I called her out on it, but ignoring me, she just got up and disappeared into the bathroom. The sound of the warm-rain-tube soon reached my sensitive ears. Oh, she was playing unfair. She knew I wasn't allowed into the bathroom unless she told me otherwise. Seemed like she was already feeling bad for neglecting me so shamefully tonight. What other reason could there possibly be for her to hide in there from me?

I trotted around the couch and lay down in front of the closed door, strategically positioning my head on my forepaws, ears slightly bowed, and eyes up at where her face would be when she came out. No harm in lying on the guilt, just to be sure.

She was in there tonight way longer than usual—things were just getting crazier and crazier! But eventually, I heard her turn off the warm-rain-tube, shortly followed by what sounded like her furiously rummaging around the many tiny trinkets she kept in there. Was everything all right? Bella never took so long in there. I started whining.

The door swung open. Surrounded by warm mist and wrapped into a fluffy towel, she stepped out and … walked right past me into the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her once again.

By the holy chew bone! What was happening? Was I losing my charm?

More rummaging reached my ears, this time considerably more furious and louder. "I have nothing to wear!" I heard Bella scream at one point, but I didn't react to it like I would usually do when she was so obviously in distress. Instead, I sat upright and turned my back toward the bedroom.

That's right, missy, you forced me into doing this!

Behold, the ultimate punishment: the ice-cold shoulder of Jacob.

The rummaging continued audibly: first the clattering of wood against wood—I knew a quieter version of this noise from Bella getting dressed in the morning—, then the whoosh of something light but substantial been flung through the air—it sounded a lot like when Bella spread the picnic blanket in the park—, then the soft thud of that something landing on the bed—I was proud to be very familiar with that thud and the bed—while everything was intercepted by Bella's muttering and the occasional exclamation here and there.

It was all quite unsettling, and I was starting to become really worried about my best friend. But I stood my ground nonetheless and kept my back firmly toward the source of what seemed to be a heavy storm raging inside our home. Unless I'd gotten an honest apology—preferably in the form of something tasty—, she would not receive any kind of compassion from me whatsoever.

The shoulder was hard, but it was necessary.

The ringing noise that indicated that someone was downstairs trying to get into the house cut through the air. It was followed by a brief moment of eerie calm, then the bedroom door burst open and out stepped Bella in a billowy dark dress and those weird sock-pants that looked like her legs were bare, but felt scratchy against my fur and tasted awful when I licked her. They had deceived me more than once. Her long wavy locks bounced wildly when she rushed to the front door.

"Be downstairs in a second!" she blurted to the box with the many tiny dots in the center that hung on the wall right next to the door.

"No rush; I'm not going anywhere," the box replied in, yet again, a deep male voice.

I didn't know that voice; it didn't sound familiar at all, so I let out a warning bark. But Bella seemed totally unfazed by the stranger at our doorstep. She had that huge goofy smile plastered on her face again.

The next few things happened very fast. Seriously, I'd never seen my Bella move so quickly before! She slipped into her shoes and coat, slung one of her smaller purses across her shoulder, grabbed her bundle of door-open-sticks off the counter and yanked the front door open. I was so stunned by her newly found speed that I only reached the door when it banged shut right in front of my nose.

"Hey! Come back!" I barked indignantly, jumping up and scratching angrily at the door with my forepaws. I even howled for some good measure.

But Bella didn't come back.

-HBF-

She eventually returned, long after the sky had turned dark outside. Usually we would both be curled up in bed by this time already, her under a thick blanket and me at her feet on top of it. When she finally walked through the front door, I immediately jumped awake and attacked her with all the questions I had collected during her absence.

"Where have you been? What were you doing out so late? What happened to my belly-rubbing tonight? Are we going to make good for that now? Why didn't you take me with you? And who was that stranger trying to get into our home earlier?"

But she completely ignored me. She just leaned against the door with a very disconcerting look on her face. After a deep sigh, that sounded like one of my chew toys—the one that made those squeaky noises—, she pushed off the door and bent down to press a kiss on my head. It was a good start; maybe I'd be getting that belly-rub tonight after all. But before I could get my hopes too high, Bella started doing something I had never, ever seen her do before. And I'd known her pretty much my entire life!

She was sort of walking through the room, but her steps were lighter and kind of more elaborate than usual. And she was swinging and flapping her arms like a bird while turning round and round on her own axis. I watched in absolute shock how she made her way like that across the living room until she finally disappeared into the bedroom. Her giggling and humming still reaching my ears.

Whatever that was, it could not have been healthy.

To my great disappointment, things didn't go back to normal the following days. On the contrary, they got even worse. Almost every evening, Bella would rush through the door, barely greeting me with a teasing scratch behind the ears, and then run back and forth between bathroom and bedroom in a flurry until the maddening ringing at the front door ripped her out of our home and away from me, only to return back to me in the complete darkness of the night in the form of a Bella-shaped twirling and humming mess. And because she was gone all night, our morning visits to the park were also not quite the same anymore. Instead of running and playing with me, like she used to do, Bella would just stand or toddle behind me, either staring into empty space or belting out one yawn after another.

I began to passionately hate that door-ringing.

On the rare days she did stay at home with me, she was always speaking to her tiny-talking-light-box for hours, which distracted her from her belly-rubbing duties. My poor tummy was feeling very neglected and dissatisfied these days.

While Bella was going through that … phase of hers, the world outside got colder day by day but at the same time also brighter and the air sweeter. When, one day, that gigantic tree popped up out of nowhere on our way to visit Bella's friend Carlisle—he was kind of a weirdo; always made me lie on a table while he poked and prodded at me—, I knew what was going to happen.

The sparkly-yummy-season had started!

I still remembered it from the last time. For seemingly no reason at all, when it had gotten really cold outside, conifers would shoot out on every free surface available, and the humans then decorated them with thousands of twinkling lights and just as many sparkly balls—the balls, though pretty, were really boring because I wasn't allowed to play fetch with them. And then there was the food. So much food! That was the best part of the sparkly-yummy-season. Wherever we went, the many different scents of all kinds of mouth-watering food was constantly in the air.

All of it, the food and trees and lights, eventually led to this one day: the-great-finale.

The-great-finale was so important that Bella even had this special fir-branch-candle-hoop to remind her that it was coming. Last time, Bella had taken me to our friends Alice and Jasper's place for the-great-finale. They'd had a tree as well, even bigger than ours at home, decorated with all the apparently obligatory sparkly stuff. Bella, Alice, Jasper, and all the other humans there then sat around this huge table that was overloaded with some of the most delicious food I'd ever seen, smelled, and eventually got to taste again and again and again …

By the end of the sparkly-yummy-season, I'd been so full of food and the many treats Bella had gotten me that I could have curled up on the bed and just slept for ages.

So, you could imagine my excitement when I saw the big tree in the city. Maybe the sparky-yummy-season was exactly what we both needed. Maybe it would snap Bella out of whatever it was she was in and bring our normal life back. Chances for that rose even higher when Bella brought me one of my favorite treats a few days later. She even gave it to me before she'd had her own dinner. Seemed like she did feel guilty for neglecting me lately.

"Who's my good boy?" she asked while kissing my forehead and scratching behind my ears for real—with both her hands, her thumbs massaging the soft spot right between my ears that made me weak in the knees. "I can count on you tonight, right? Will you behave for me, Jake?"

"Of course!" I readily agreed. I was her good boy after all.

The door rang. I was instantly up and ready to pounce that stupid thing for disturbing my perfect moment with Bella yet again. "Not tonight," I growled.

But Bella had other plans. "No, Jacob, down!" she commanded in that stern voice I hated. There was no fighting against that voice.

Obediently, I immediately lay down. "But I'm your good boy," I whimpered meekly in protest.

Bella skipped over to talk to the door-box, maddeningly humming on the way. So she was leaving me once again although our evening had started out so well. I'd been sure that she would stay with me this time …

The front door opened, but instead of the sound of Bella's steps echoing into the distance, I heard a new set of steps entering our hallway. Looking up, I found a tall stranger standing in our home. "Good evening, beautiful," he said. Wrapping his arms around Bella's waist and pressing a kiss against her cheek.

"Hey!" I barked in alarm and was instantly back on my paws. "That's my cheek!"

My powerful performance had its desired effect to my great satisfaction, and the two humans jumped apart immediately. I'd been so good that they seemed to have frozen in place. The stranger even looked frightened. Very good.

"Jacob!" Bella was the first to unfreeze. "What did we just talk about behaving?"

Honestly, I couldn't remember. I was too busy staring down that foreign man in my home. He was a fair bit taller than Bella, his wide shoulders indicated he wasn't a total wimp, but I was pretty confident I could still take him down. His hair was an absolute mess and sort of distracting. It reminded me of Leah, a cat that we sometimes met at Carlisle's. She was always grumpy and had this really long, shaggy fur that constantly stood up every which way as if she'd just been hit by lighting.

"Is that him?" Leah-hair-guy asked, pointing at me. His voice was rich and deep and sounded somehow familiar. He was still half-hiding behind Bella—seemed like he was a wimp after all.

"Yes," Bella answered, kneeling down beside me to gently pet my head. I tried to ignore the soothing feelings her touch always evoked in me. Why was she disturbing me while I was on duty? We had an intruder in our home for barking out loud! "This is Jacob," she continued calmly, completely missing the dangerous situation we were in. "Jake, meet Edward."

Edward dropped down on one knee a few steps in front of me and cautiously stretched his hand out. "Hi, Jacob. Bella's told me a lot about you. All good things, I promise."

Of course, she did; there was nothing but good things to tell about me. I took a wary sniff at the proffered hand and almost threw up the delicious treat Bella had just brought me. He smelled horrible! So sickly sweet that it stung my sensitive nose. He reeked of that place Bella sometimes took me; one of those buildings I wasn't allowed to enter. There were a lot of those actually but this one was by far the worst. It had these huge transparent walls on both sides of the entrance that let out the blinding light. It was so bright you could hardly see the rows and rows of tiny flashy bottles on the many counters and shelves inside. But that wasn't even the worst part! What made me really hate that place was everytime when someone opened the door, this awful sweet stench would waft outside and burn my nose. Edward smelled like he lived at that place.

I growled again. The offered hand was promptly retracted. At least, the guy had fine reflexes.

"Jacob, be nice," Bella ordered and pushed me down a little. "Edward is our guest."

A "guest," huh? "Guest" wasn't the same as "friend." "Guest" meant that I had to behave but not necessarily like him. "Guest" also meant that he wouldn't be here permanently and might even never come back again. I could live with "guest."

"Good boy," Bella praised when I stopped growling and backed down. Proudly she patted my back. I couldn't help the smug look I cast at Edward.

Yeah, I was the good boy here. Take that, Guestward.

Bella invited him into the living room, telling him to make himself feel at home while she went into the kitchen to finish dinner. Edward seated himself on the couch. I didn't like the way he stretched his arms across the backrest, so relaxed and at ease, taking Bella's kind offer so literally. Walking around the coffee table, I firmly sat down right opposite him in order to keep a close eye on the guy. Guest or no guest, he was new and smelled bad. I wasn't going to let him out of my sight.

Edward's gaze wandered around the room for a while until he finally noticed my unflinching stare and froze. Took him long enough. Wasn't exactly the brightest of humans, I guessed.

"Hey, Bella," Edward called out, his eyes now wary and not leaving mine. "What kind of dog is Jacob?"

Bella's voice answered from the kitchen between the clattering of plates and pans. "He's a crossbreed. Mostly German Shepherd."

I watched how that weird protruding lump at his throat moved. When he spoke again, his voice sounded weaker than before. "Oh, cool. Don't they get really big?"

"Yes," Bella replied cheerfully. "Jake is about a year and a half now. That's like pre-teen in dog years. He's still growing."

The odd throat-lump moved again, this time even more distinctly. "Still growing …" Edward murmured.

Yeah, you heard correctly. I'm gonna get even bigger, sucker!

Just for emphasis, I straightened my back and puffed out my chest. It had the desired effect. Edward hastily pulled his arms from the backrest and pressed them close to his body, his hands rushed to cover the apex of his legs. He looked as if he was desperately trying to disappear into the couch. To my great delight, my trusty nose now spotted a bit of fear mixed into his terrible sweet stench.

Unfortunately, Bella served dinner before I could properly savor my victory, and the night just went downward from there.

Edward was apparently a glutton. He ate everything! There was nothing left in the end, not even crumbs. "Wow, Bella," he said, scraping his plate clean. "That was the best meal I've ever had. I can't believe you actually made me eat Brussels sprouts and enjoy them."

Useless saliva was practically dripping out of both corners of my mouth as I grudgingly watched the very last bite disappear into Edward's greedy maw. I loved those tiny green balls Bella made; they were one of my favorites.

The worst dinner of my life was, of course, followed by the worst entertainment of my life.

After having done the dishes, the two humans apparently decided to take up permanent residence on the couch. They didn't even have the decency to let me join them; they just took up the entire thing! And there they talked, and talked, and talked, and talked …

Until they suddenly were not. I had almost dozed off at Bella's feet when the endless speaking abruptly stopped. Wondering if our guest was finally leaving, I turned around and looked up.

It was the most disturbing sight I had ever seen. The two of them were tangled up in each other, so much that it was hard to make out whose leg was draped over the other's and whose hand was woven into whose hair. And all the while they were wriggling and rubbing and pressing their bodies and mouths against each other, that the only explanation I could come up with was they were either playing a game of crushing the other or …

Or maybe Edward was still hungry and now attempting to eat my best friend!

I didn't ask questions—there was no time to lose. I leapt to my paws and charged.

What happened then made absolutely no sense at all. Bella screamed. Edward screamed. I barked. Loud. Then Bella grabbed me by my collar and pulled me off Edward before I could rip his throat out as he deserved. She called me a bad boy while sternly waving that finger in front of me that I always feared because she only used it when I was in really deep trouble. Edward stood up behind her. He whispered something into her ear, his voice too low for me to hear as if it came from somewhere deep in his chest. Her eyes glazed over and her face morphed from anger into that dazed expression I'd seen so often these days. She let go of my collar and dashed alongside Edward into the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind them.

Even before I could work out what had just happened, the weirdest noises penetrated our home. I cocked my ears and identified Bella's voice as one source. She sounded distressed as if she was under enormous pressure and pain. I dashed to the door and pushed and clawed and barked and whined, but the stupid thing stayed shut the whole night long.

-HBF-

Edward finally left the next morning, only to come back in the evening and every evening after that. I was beginning to suspect that he wasn't just a guest anymore.

Meanwhile the sparkly-yummy-season was in full swing. The candles on Bella's fir-branch-candle-hoop were lit one after another. I was especially excited on the day when she lit the third candle because it meant that the-great-finale was really soon, and we would be going out to find a tree to put in our home and decorate today. Last year, Bella took me to this park filled with conifers of any size imaginable, some so small they could easily fit on Bella's nightstand, others so huge that I couldn't even see the top when standing in front them. At the end of the day, I'd picked the perfect tree for us to take home. It had been just tall enough to fit into the living room and not too prickly so Bella wouldn't hurt herself when decorating it. My Bella could be quite the klutz sometimes.

I was so happy when we left the house that morning. Finally, we were doing something normal again. Bella sang some song about a tree with "lovely branches" and I cheerfully howled along. My excitement got a little damper when I spotted Edward at the tree park, obviously waiting for us. The two humans performed what I'd learned was their greeting ritual that consisted of a lot of hugging and kissing and sometimes even some moaning and squealing. It was kind of disgusting to watch, so I let out a discreet bark. We were out in public after all.

"Oh, hi, Jacob." Edward looked down at me as if he'd just noticed my presence. How rude. "How are you doing, buddy?"

"I am not your buddy," I rectified pointedly and snapped at his hand that reached out to touch me.

"Jake!" Bella scolded. She always sided with Edward now; it was really unfair, which I told her with a snort.

"It's all right, Bella," Edward appeased her. "That's just part of our manly greeting ritual. Right, buddy?" He looked down at me with a goofy grin. "You weren't actually going to bite me, right?"

"Yeah, sure, buddy," I huffed, trotting ahead into the tree park. "Whatever you say."

I was determined not to let Edward ruin my day with Bella, though it was really hard to ignore him—even out in the park, I could smell his stench a mile away. We wandered around a bit, stopping now and then to look at a tree. Considering everything I already knew about Edward, it only figured that he was a horrible tree-picker on top of everything else. It was almost as if he did it on purpose.

"Bella, look at this one," he said, and we stopped yet again in front of a hideous specimen. It wasn't very tall and totally disproportionate: too big at the bottom and the top and way too sparse in the middle. The top was even crooked!

"Wow, that's a tree," Bella laughed.

I shook my head incredulously at the two humans bent over with laughter. Why were they so happy about a weird tree? Edward was ridiculing the importance of this event. As far as I understood the sparkly-yummy-season, the tree was the most crucial part. We would have to take the thing home and stare at it for ages for barking out loud!

Since I was apparently the only one here who treated this matter with the proper amount of seriousness it deserved, I walked ahead in search of a more fitting choice. Quickly, I found the ideal candidate. It was tall but not exaggeratedly so and had a symmetrical triangular shape. Sniffing at a lower branch I noted that it had that nice cozy smell of fir and resin, and the needles were soft around the edges and therefore not prickly. It was the perfect tree.

"Bella!" I barked and hopped around the tree in excitement. "Bella, come here; I found it!"

She came around the corner, much too slowly for my taste, her hand holding Edward's. She'd been doing that since we arrived—maybe she was concerned that he might get lost in the park, like when she had me on a leash on the streets. "Okay, Jake, okay, settle down, we're here."

"Settle down?" I replied loudly, racing over to them and jumping around them in circles, trying to get them to walk faster. "Look at what I found, and then let's see if you can settle down."

Bella gasped when I finally herded them in front of the tree of all trees. "Oh, Jake, it's beautiful!"

I sat down next to my great discovery, puffed out my chest, and let out a victorious bark.

"It sure is a great tree. Well done, bud," Edward admitted. He walked up to the tree and lifted a little slip of paper that was dangling from one of its branches. "Um, Bella, you might want to see this."

Bella came closer and gasped again, this one sounding a lot different though. "Well, beauty comes at a price, I guess." Noticing her unhappy tone, I trotted over and licked her hand. She bent down and rubbed my ears with a sad smile. "Sorry, Jake, but we'll have to find another tree."

"Why?" I whined.

"Bella, it's all right; I've got this," Edward interrupted softly.

I wasn't quite sure what he got, but whatever it was, it made Bella really angry. She shot up and whirled around to look at him. "No," she said determinedly. "It's too much, Edward. I can't let you do that. We'll find another tree."

"Really, Bella, it's not a big deal," he argued back. Was he mad? Didn't he know there was no arguing when Bella used that commanding tone?

"No," she repeated, somehow managing to sound even firmer than before. A quiet whine made its way through my lips. I really didn't like it when she used that voice. "I appreciate your offer, Edward, but … no." Then she turned on her heel and briskly walked away.

Edward sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. "Sorry, bud," he said to me before rushing off to catch up with Bella, leaving me behind to stare after them in confusion.

What just happened? Why was Bella so upset? Why weren't we going to take the tree home? She liked it so much, but then Edward showed her that slip and …

"Edward," I growled.

It was all Edward's fault. He ruined everything!

-HBF-

We ended up taking a different tree. It was way smaller and, overall, less perfect than the one I chose. Edward picked it out, so of course it was terrible. Despite his annoying presence—he stayed throughout lunch, decorating the tree, and even dinner—, the day turned out rather well. At least, Bella wasn't angry anymore, though she seemed a little bleak and continued to remain so the following days. I didn't like it when she was like that. Usually, it meant she was over-thinking something, which then ended with her making herself miserable. I tried to cheer her up, snuggling up to her when she was staring out the window like a cat, or giving her reassuring kisses whenever I had the opportunity, but this time, nothing seemed to work. Which was why I was exceptionally happy when Bella's good friend Alice came over on the second day after what I now called "the Treeward-disaster."

"Bella, it's really no big deal," she said at one point after taking a sip from her glass. They always drank this weird grape juice when they met up, sometimes even more than one bottle within one night. Honestly, I couldn't tell what was so appealing about that stuff; it smelled kind of spoiled. "Look at us. I was Upper East Side, and we're best friends."

"Exactly, Alice; was," Bella replied. She sounded so defeated that I went over to put my head on her knee to cheer her up. She gave me a brief smile but turned back to Alice, stroking absentmindedly behind my ears with one hand. "You're not anymore, not since you married Jasper."

"That's because my parents are stuck-up assholes," Alice spat. "But the Masens aren't like that; I know them." She sighed, putting her drink on the table and took both of Bella's hands into hers. "And even if they were, it doesn't change what's between you two. I love Jasper. I would never trade him for the Brandon fortune, not even all the fortune in the world. And I know Edward feels exactly the same about you."

Bella was silent for a moment. I noticed she was chewing on her lip, which meant she was thinking again. "But he would have to choose," she eventually said. "He would be forced to pick between me and his family. I could never do that to him. Even if he did choose me, what kind of person would that make me?"

"You mean someone like Jasper?"

"No, of course not! Jasper would never—"

"You're right; he would never do that," Alice reassured Bella, her thumbs rubbing soothing circles on our distressed friend's hands. "He never made me choose. My parents did. And I chose him, willingly and with all my heart, and I couldn't be happier and more at peace with myself now. Mostly because it got me the love of my life but also because it was my own choice. All Jasper did was to trust me. He trusted me that I would make the right decision for myself. And you should do the same. Edward is a grown man; he can decide for himself what kind of life he wants to lead. The most important thing you have to do, Bella, is not to run away when he chooses you."

-HBF-

Alice's visit did not have the desired effect. Bella was still gloomy as ever the next morning and the one after that although she'd promised Alice to cheer up. On the fourth day, I was already out of my mind with worry. In fact, I was so worried for my best friend that I couldn't even enjoy Edward's absence since we got the tree.

The buzzing of her tiny-talking-light-box woke her from her trance and me from my nap. She picked it up, but instead of pressing on the thing that started the talking, she just stared at it for a long moment. She'd been doing that a lot recently; just staring at the box and waiting for the buzzing to stop. Today the buzzing was particularly persistent, so much that it already bordered on annoyance.

"Make it stop," I barked. Bella jumped at the sound. I ducked immediately, feeling bad for startling her.

"Jacob, what—"

"Bella?"

We both turned to the box in her hand. She must have accidentally pressed the talk button. The voice inside the box was definitely Edward's; I was unlucky enough to recognize it by now, but he sounded a little strange—raspier and somehow defeated and relieved at the same time. Maybe it was just how people sounded through a tiny-talking-light-box. Bella stared at the box in her hand as if it was a poisonous snake.

"Bella?" box-Edward asked again when there was no answer for a while. "Are you there?"

Bella took a deep breath. "Um, yeah." Her voice sounded weak, more like a question than an answer. "Hi, Edward."

"Hi," he sighed with relief. "I called you but you didn't—"

"I was busy," she interrupted. "Work, Christmas, you know …"

"Yeah, I understand," he said when she didn't continue after a while. "Are you free tonight? We could grab some dinner; maybe take Jake out to the park?"

Did he say park? I was already halfway up on my paws and ready to go. Our morning visits to the park these last few days had been a sad excuse of what they'd used to be. Seemed like Edward occasionally did have a good idea.

"Sorry, Edward, no."

I slumped down on the floor. "Why not?" I whined.

"Um, okay, you probably still have preparations to make," Edward backpedaled. Although his tone was cheerful and light, something didn't quite feel right to me. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. I'll pick you up at—"

"No, Edward," Bella cut him off again. She sounded strained, as if she was pressing the words out of her body with great force. "I don't think we should see each other again."

It was suddenly silent. Since I had perfect hearing, I knew it was never really silent. But the moment following Bella's words was. Utter, deafening silence. And throughout this silence, I watched Bella. She was still sitting on the couch, her legs now hugged close to her chest, her tired eyes staring at the talking-box, her lips pressed firmly against each other. She wasn't even breathing.

Edward's gasp tore up the silence. It sounded like the kind of noise Bella made when she was really sad but trying very hard not to show it. "Bella, if this is about what happened at the Christmas tree market, I told you that I'm sorry. I didn't really think before I talked; you know I do that sometimes. I just … You loved it so much, and I wanted to help—"

"No, that's not it," Bella choked, frantically shaking her head from side to side.

"Then what is it?" Edward demanded, his voice now almost frenzied. "Why are you doing this to us? Is it because of my family? I told you, Bella; I don't care about that."

"But you should!" She was crying now. "They are your parents; they are a part of you. You belong in that world. I don't. And there's absolutely nothing I can give you to make up for that."

"Bella—"

"Goodbye, Edward." Her hand flashed forward and shut the talking-box down, carelessly flinging it against the cushion after its light was gone. Then she cried, and cried, and cried, and there was nothing I could do to make it stop.

-HBF-

Bella cried the entire night. The really big tears did eventually ebb away to smaller sobs, but those never really stopped, not even when she finally fell asleep. I knew this because the spot where she had pressed her face against my back was still wet the next morning.

It turned out that the next morning was the day of the-great-finale. Bella got up and lit the fourth and final candle on the fir-branch-candle-hoop, but other than that and using the bathroom, she didn't seem to intend to do anything today. I had gotten up with her, assuming we'd go about our usual morning routine, and was very surprised and disappointed when she crawled right back under the covers without even making breakfast. From the doorstep of the bedroom, I watched how she just lay there on her side, one arm tucked beneath her pillow and the other wrapped around her stomach, and stared at the tiny gap between the curtains with blank, puffy eyes.

This didn't look good—this couldn't be good. I'd had this hunch that she hadn't been feeling so well lately; it had happened before, but this … this was worse than anything I'd ever seen. Deciding I couldn't watch my best friend wallowing in misery one moment longer, I leapt onto the bed and started licking her face.

"Jake, not now. Stop, please." She feebly attempted to shoo me away, but I wasn't having any of it. I hopped off the bed, dragging the blanket with me. That proved to be effective—she was at least sitting up now. "Jake! What the heck is wrong with you?"

"What the heck is wrong with you?" I threw back at her before picking up the blanket once again and taking it with me to the front door. When Bella finally caught up with me, I jumped up at the door and started scratching and whining at it.

"Oh, I see." She sighed, gently pushing me off the door. "I'm so sorry, Jake. I've been a terrible dog owner, haven't I?"

"Well, not terrible," I answered. "But your recent performance has left a lot to be desired."

"I'm so, so sorry, Jake," she repeated and pressed a kiss on my head. "Give me a minute to dress, then we can go out to the park."

Yes, finally! A stroll through the park was probably exactly what Bella needed to get rid of her bad mood. I knew it always helped me.

It was chilly outside but not freezing. The sun was shining, making the snow and ice as sparkly as the decorations the humans put up everywhere. We walked through the well-known paths through the park, me dashing ahead and Bella wandering behind. Every few steps I would turn around, calling and goading her to walk faster, to come run along with me through the piles of soft powdery snow, to have some fun and finally laugh again. But nothing worked. She didn't even seem to really see me. Her head was down, her hands tucked into the pockets of her coat, and her legs trembled with the effort to carry her one step after the other.

This was not working the way I imagined.

Then I had another idea. It took me some time to look around, but eventually, I found a nice thick branch, perfect for one of our favorite games. I trotted back to Bella and placed the branch right in front of her feet, then I looked up at her with lolled out tongue and expectant eyes.

"No, Jake," she sighed. "I'm really not in the mood for this right now."

"Why?" I whined. I did realize I'd been doing that a lot lately, but desperate times required desperate actions.

"Sorry, Jake," she whispered and scuffed her way around me, leaving me behind to stare after her.

What was going on with her? She'd never acted like this—so distant and bleak and, overall, just sad. Where did my best friend go? The one who was always up for having a good time, the one who always looked at me with a soft smile, the one who had the most radiant and beautiful sounding laugh I knew. What happened to her?

As if someone heard my inner ranting, the wind suddenly picked up and almost knocked me off my paws, carrying a strange, sickly sweet stench with it. I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

Hold on, I knew that smell.

I let out a happy bark and dashed to Bella. "Bella! Bella!" I yipped and jumped excitedly in front of her.

But she didn't get it. "No, Jake, not now."

"Yes now!" I loudly disagreed, grabbed the hem of her coat and pulled her toward the source of the familiar scent.

"Jacob! Let go!" she screamed bewildered. "What's going on?"

"Come, I'll show you!" Then I ran.

"Jacob!" I heard Bella yell behind me, but I didn't stop. I followed the track through the park, easily dodging leafless bushes and trees, and trailing a swirl of tiny glittering snowflakes behind me. Now and then I would slow down a little bit and turn around to make sure Bella was still following me. She was trying her best to keep up though her natural clumsiness slowed her down, making her trip over invisible branches and pebbles occasionally. I was so occupied with watching out for Bella that I only noticed I had reached my target when I collided head on with it.

We both yelped in surprise when we tumbled to the ground, swirling up a cloud of snow in the process. He gasped and coughed until the snowy mist cleared. When he lifted his head to look at what had just knocked him over, I noticed he had similar dark circles under his eyes like Bella. "What the—Jacob?"

"Hi, buddy!" I greeted him happily and licked him right across his face. I was so glad to see him that his awful taste didn't even bother me.

"Jake?" Bella yelled from somewhere behind. She sounded out of breath, obviously struggling to catch up. Edward's eyes widened at the sound of her voice. He tried to get up, but I wasn't having any of it. I pinned him to the ground with all my weight. No prey of mine would escape my clutches.

I barked loudly. "Over here! Quick!"

Finally, I heard her hasty steps behind us. I turned around to face her with a wide grin. "Look who I found!" I exclaimed proudly.

She froze mid-movement when she saw what, or rather whom, I was sitting on, but the shock soon wore off. Rushing beside us, she swiftly grabbed my collar and pulled me off my catch. "I'm so sorry, Edward," she said, flustered. "Jake just suddenly ran off. He's never done that before."

"No harm done, Bella," he reassured her. His voice was gentle and his smile warm when he took the hand she offered him. "I'm actually glad he caught me."

Bella helped him up but didn't comment on his words. Their hands kept holding on to each other even when it wasn't necessary anymore. It was odd the way they just stood there in the cold, with her staring nervously down at the ground and him gazing longingly at her.

"Um, I guess we should get going." Bella eventually broke the awkward silence. "We're meeting at Alice's later, and you probably have plans as well. It's Christmas Eve, of course, you have plans …"

She was babbling. I'd seen her do that before. It usually happened when she was feeling highly uncomfortable and desperate to get out of a stressful situation. I didn't understand the reasons behind the babbling; it made absolutely no sense and only prolonged her dilemma instead of shortening it. Edward didn't seem to mind it though. Quite the contrary, he appeared to be completely entranced by it.

"Your family must be waiting for you," she said, her eyes still looking everywhere but at the person right in front of her. "I shouldn't keep you, so …" She attempted to pull her hand out of Edward's, which seemed to wake him out of the trance he was in. Instead of letting her go, he pulled her in closer and looped his arms around her, encasing her in a firm embrace.

He should be grateful that I'd had a change of heart regarding my opinion on his character and his importance in my best friend's life; otherwise, he would have lost all his limbs for that move by now.

"Don't run, Bella," he pleaded with his cheek firmly pressed against her temple. "Please, don't run away from me. Not again. Not ever."

"But we are so different," she feebly argued. "We live in completely different worlds. This can't work—"

"It will," he interrupted. "when we both want it." He loosened his hold a little to look at her face, his eyes searching hers. "Do you want it? Us?"

Bella was biting her lip, her gaze darting around again, until finally—whether by accident or because she simply couldn't fight it any longer—they landed on Edward's imploring eyes. Her expression immediately softened, her eyes blazing with life and light, like they usually did. "With all my heart."

The biggest smile I had ever seen emerged on Edward's face. He pulled her in for a kiss, and then, as if all the joy had charged him with new energy, he lifted her off her feet and spun her around. I joined Bella's happy laughter and Edward's victorious cheers with a few delighted barks. Feeling the same surge of energy Edward got, I started jumping in circles around them in excitement. Hundreds, nay thousands of tiny snowflakes were thereby whirled into the air and danced around me and the reunited lovers.

"Jake!" Bella giggled. Oh, how much I had missed that sweet sound; I hadn't heard it for days. "Stop, you're making us all wet."

"Let him be, Bella," Edward said. The gigantic smile was still on his face. "We owe him. Isn't that right, buddy?" He knelt down in front of me and stretched out his hand. I paused and eyed it curiously. "I owe you. Big time," he said with the most sincere look I'd ever seen on a human. "Thank you for bringing Bella back to me, Jacob."

I sniffed his offered hand. Well, he didn't smell that bad. I could probably get used to it. Especially when he made Bella so, so happy. I nudged his hand with my nose and ducked beneath it, allowing him to touch me for the first time. Edward's eyes widened comically while Bella gasped in surprise. His fingers moved, very timidly at first, but soon he was scratching behind my ears with great enthusiasm. It felt different than when Bella did it. His hands were bigger and stronger than hers.

Okay, it felt freaking amazing! I had to admit that Edward was actually a pretty good guy. Plus, if he ever hurt my best friend, I could still rip his face off.

"Merry Christmas, Edward." Bella knelt down and hugged Edward from behind, whispering the words with a smile and a kiss against his cheek.

He turned his head, capturing her lips with his. "Merry Christmas, Bella."

"Happy sparkly-yummy-season!" I barked with utter joy.

"Yes, Jake, Merry Christmas to you, too." Bella laughed before she came closer and started stroking my neck and back with both hands. Edward, being a quick learner, joined her instantly.

Knowing a perfect opportunity when I spotted one, I flopped onto the ground and turned and wiggled until my belly was on display.

Okay, guys, I'm ready. Let's get this party started!

Life was awesome again.

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