CHAPTER TWO
LOVER BOY

Later that evening, Montana was almost finished with her shift at the diner.

Diane had been talking her ear off for hours about the latest gossip from Forks High School. Other than Diane, the only actual other friend that Montana had in Forks was Bella Swan, so, in all fairness, her news sources were limited. Whilst Montana adored Diane, the girl did not stop talking. After working with her for a long time, Montana had learned how to half-listen, without hurting the blonde's feelings.

Diane sucked in a deep breath. "Anyway, so Allie told me, that Lily told her, that Lisa overheard from Becky, who was apparently told by Jessica, that the Cullen's have skipped town."

Montana glanced up from the table she was cleaning, her full attention now on Diane. "Wait a minute, they left?"

Diane nodded her head, continuing to stack dirty plates. "Yeah. Bella never showed at school today either. Poor girl must be heartbroken."

Montana released a heavy sigh, already feeling bad for the Swan girl. She knew how much Bella was into Edward, and it had seemed like he really cared for her too.

It would explain why Charlie Swan hadn't come in for his dinner, like he usually did on a Wednesday evening. Bella must be devastated. She wondered whether she should send the girl a text, but decided against it for the time being. Montana presumed Dakota would have talked to Bella by now anyway, since they were much closer friends. In fact, it might have been where Dakota had gone this afternoon.

"I can't believe they just packed up and left," Montana said, shaking her head in disbelief. Everybody knew the Cullen family were a bit weird, but they had important ties to Forks.

"I know," Diane agreed. "It was so sudden."

Outside, a familiar Volkswagen Rabbit pulled into the parking lot, immediately catching Montana's eyes through the large window. A small smile ghosted over her lips, and Diane couldn't help but smirk slightly at the look on her face, one she recognised every single time Jacob Black pulled up to pick her up on a Wednesday evening.

"Is that lover boy?" Diane teased in a sing-song voice. Montana turned to face her with a glare. "What? Oh, come on, what guy goes out of his way to pick a friend up from work, every week without fail, if he doesn't have feelings for them?"

"Jake and I have been friends for a long time," Montana pointed out, sparing a brief glance out the window. "He's just a nice guy."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Diane waved off the excuse, the same one Montana gave every time Diane asked about Jacob. "Go to your man then. I'll finish up, you clocked in before I did."

"Oh my god, he's not my man," Montana groaned, launching the wet cloth she had been cleaning tables with at Diane.

The blonde girl chuckled, managing to catch the cloth by her chest before it could smack her in the face, like Montana had intended. "Yeah, well, tell the blush on your face that."

Montana's hands instinctively moved to her cheeks, which had heated up, but only in embarrassment due to Diane's teasing. "You're the worst," Montana stated, untying her apron and tossing it to the girl.

Diane's gentle laughter filled the air, the blonde watching as Montana hastily retrieved her coat and bag from the stand. "See you Saturday!"

Montana gave her a brief wave before she closed the door shut behind her, making her way towards Jacob's car. She pushed Diane's goading words from her mind, lips naturally lifting into a smile as she met Jacob's eyes. She opened the passenger side door, her presence immediately sending a smile brightening across his face.

"Good shift?" He asked.

"Meh. Kinda uneventful," Montana replied, crossing the seatbelt over her body. "Hey, did you know the Cullen's left town?"

"No. No, I didn't," he said, facing her. "Is Bella ok?"

"I don't know," she responded, noticing the flickers of concern in Jacob's eyes. If Montana was being completely honest, she'd always thought that Jacob had a crush on Bella, one that only seemed to intensify after she returned to Forks earlier in the year.

"How did you find out?" He asked. Montana barely had chance to open her mouth before he realised the answer himself. "Diane," Jacob said in unison with her. He breathed out heavily. "I mean, it could just be a rumour."

"I don't know," Montana said as Jacob started the engine. "Diane's a pretty reliable source."

They sat quietly as Jacob reversed out of the parking lot, his concentration fully on completing the manoeuvre. It wasn't that he was a bad driver, though by his own admission he wasn't the most careful, but whenever Montana was in the car he always naturally took extra caution to make sure he was driving safely.

"So you haven't heard from Bella?" He pressed as they reached the main road.

"No," Montana replied. "Dakota might have though. Maybe that's why she couldn't drive me here after school."

"That makes sense," Jacob said, though a frown soon formed on his expression. "Why wouldn't she tell you she was seeing Bella though?"

Montana shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe she just didn't wanna say anything around you guys."

"True," Jacob said. "Embry is the biggest blabber mouth I've ever known."

"Yeah, he's a nightmare," Montana agreed, leaning back. "Remember when he told the entire school I had a crush on Chase Ward?"

Jacob's grip tightened on the steering wheel. "That guy was a dick."

"I know," Montana said, turning her head to face him. "You broke his nose."

"Him and his idiot friends were making fun of you," Jacob responded. "What was I supposed to do?"

A smile pulled at Montana's lips, though she didn't comment. Diane's words rang through her head, and she could feel heat rising in her cheeks yet again. "So how's Embry doing after today?" She asked, shifting the topic.

"Last time I saw him he was ploughing through his second tub of ice cream," Jacob replied, a laugh slipping past his lips. Montana also chuckled at the thought. "I don't know why he bothers, she's clearly not interested in him."

"He hasn't given her chance to be," Montana pointed out. "I think he'd be in with a shot, you know. Maddy's a nice girl, I sit by her in History."

"You think?"

"Totally," she said. "I have name dropped him to her a few times, but there's only so much I can do without it being glaringly obvious."

"I think almost the entire school knows," Jacob chuckled. "He's not the most subtle."

"I think they'd be cute together," Montana shrugged.

"No girl in their right mind is going to date, Embry," Jacob laughed. Montana smacked his arm. "Ow! What?!"

"Don't be so mean," she scolded him. "Embry's sweet."

"All right," Jake said, casting a thoughtful glance over at her.

Montana read his expression, the mischievous glint in his eyes not sitting well with her. "Oh no. I don't like this."

"Hear me out," Jacob said, stifling his laughter. "If you had to date one, out of the three of us, who would you pick?"

Montana couldn't help her nose scrunching up in response to his question. "None of you."

"No, come on," Jacob encouraged with a teasing grin. "You have to pick one."

Montana sat back, crossing her arms. "I don't want to."

Jake looked over at her with a laugh. "Personally, I think I make the best case for boyfriend," he said, sparing a brief glance over at her to try and catch her reaction.

Montana raised her eyebrows. "Oh yeah? How so?"

"Well, first of all, I can drive," he stated. "I already pick you up from work every week." Montana could practically see the grin that would be on Diane's face if she could hear this conversation. "I've known you the longest, which means I know you better than both of them," he continued to list, pausing for a second. "Also, I have the best hair."

Montana cracked up at his last reason, the sound prompting Jacob to laugh too. "All right, I mean, I can't fault you on that one."

"Exactly."

"You've clearly thought a lot about this," Montana said with a giggle. This time, it was Jacob's cheeks that flushed with colour. "Anyway," she continued, a teasing smile playing on her lips. "I'm going to have to choose Quil."

Jacob whirled his head around. "What?!"

"Purely because he's the least egotistical out of the three of you," Montana said, struggling to hide her playful smile, the look of disbelief on Jake's face only making it harder. "I gotta respect it, man."

"Tell him that, and then you'll see just how egotistical he is," Jacob told her. "Actually, don't tell him, the gloating will be unbearable."

"Oh yeah, like me saying I'd date one of you is really such an achievement," Montana replied sarcastically.

"I mean, it kinda is," Jacob said. "Guys don't even get near you."

"That's because you three always scare them away!" Montana exclaimed, shaking her head at him.

"We're doing you a favour," Jacob grinned over at her. "Nobody's good enough for you."

"Cute," Montana teased, poking his dimple. "So protective. My hero."

"Shut up."

The drive home went by quickly, both teenagers occupying themselves with playful jokes that made the time easily pass by. Montana always enjoyed drives with Jacob, something always feeling so comfortable and peaceful when it was just the two of them. It made for a nice change, since whenever Embry and Quil were in the truck they always ended up fighting over what music to put on, or bickering over just about anything in general.

Montana and Jacob could talk endlessly and never run out of things to say. And when they were quiet, it was nothing but comfortable. Montana would be staring peacefully out of the window, watching as they approached the quaint little town of La Push that she loved so much staring out at the beach as the tide came in, waves brushing against the shore, whilst the sky above slowly darkened to a midnight blue. Jacob would occasionally steal glances at her, his heart swelling at the sight of the serene smile on her lips, as she contently watched the world go by.

On the way to Montana's home, they passed by Jacob's house, the amount of vehicles parked outside not going unnoticed by either of them as a strange occurrence. Montana straightened up, looking to her left to see that Jacob was already watching her with worried eyes. In what seemed to be a silent agreement between the two teenagers, Jacob pulled up outside his house, neither of them wasting any time to exit the car

Montana took notice of the cars she recognised. The Clearwaters and the Atearas vehicles were the first she saw, but she didn't slow down to guess the others, following Jacob inside the house. "Dad?"

There were a few people cramped inside the kitchen, their backs all to the door. Billy's eyes found his son's as soon as they stepped into the room. "Jacob," Billy began, his eyes then shifting over to Montana following inside. "Montana. Have either of you heard from Bella?"

They both shook their heads. "No," Jacob responded, placing his hand against the edge of the counter. Montana noticed how tight he was squeezing the surface. "Is everything ok?"

"Is this about her boyfriend?" Montana questioned, eyes shifting across the people in the room, most of them council members. They all seemed to all wear the same look on their faces, practically a grimace at the mention of Edward Cullen. "Apparently he left town."

"Dad, what's going on?" Jacob pressed.

"Charlie Swan called," Billy finally replied. "Bella's missing."

A/N

Welcome to the first of many unnecessarily dramatic endings