"Bad Boys of forks... beyond james and laurent" 

You heard it here first – Edward and Jacob are, gulp, bad boys of Forks. Are you on Team Edward or Team Jacob? Not sure? Then answer this question: Which boy-man gets you all hot and bothered, makes you want to run off to his coven or pack and have little Renesmees or pups? 

Regardless of which of these fine young studs you are attracted to, the one thing they have in common is that they’re both bad boys deep down inside. At the end of the day they both have a dark side that is difficult to trust. Polite and handsome will get you in the door, fast cars and motorcycles will get you noticed… but they don’t make up for the claws or fangs that could emerge at the slightest prompting. 

The truth is that both Edward and Jacob have the ability to shred your heart, literally and figuratively. 

And yet… these two guys are so seductive and delicious we can’t help but want them. Cool, chiseled Edward. Hot-blooded, determined Jacob. Even under the irresistible exteriors and indelible charm, they are fierce creatures who could be the end of you in one nano-second. Is there any way to win in this situation? Is there ever a way to win with a bad boy of Forks (or anywhere, for that matter)? 

If You’re Team Edward
The danger of being with Edward Cullen is a little more obvious. But even so, under all that charm and drool-worthy gorgeousness, it’s easy to forget that he is a blood-sucking vampire. Still, he could finish Bella with one handy chomp. He practically did kill her, just by breaking up with her and leaving her balled up and comatose in the woods. 

If You’re Team Switzerland
Being on Team Switzerland doesn’t necessarily mean that you see the pros and cons of both of these young men… it more likely means that you can’t decide between their hotness and coolness to pick just one. You want the best of life on and off the reservation. To truly embody Team Switzerland as it relates to your heart, you have to see and accept that the bad boys of Forks and New Moon have drawbacks. We don’t want to believe that they have evil inside, but they essentially do. It’s in their, um, genetic makeup. And that can’t be altered. Ever. The same goes for men who actually exist in real life. 

Getting Past the Love-Hate Relationship with the Bad Boys of Forks
Why are we willing to take the risk of loving a bad boy? Of lusting after a smooth Edward or a fiery Jacob? Where does that adrenaline come from? Bella says, “You won’t hurt me. I trust you.” But, geez Louise, is that what we want to feel about the man we love? C’mon! Even Edward tells her not to trust him! (A classic line of players – “I’m dangerous.” Enter stage left: woman swooning.) Too many women tell themselves, “Yes, he’s a player and he’s cheated, but he won’t do that to me.” Or maybe some women want to be played and cheated on, so they have war tales to tell. 

Yes, Edward redeems himself in the end and comes back to the woman he loves. Anyone can make an argument about why Edward and Jacob, ultimately, are not bad boys of Forks. But the message is clear – they are not good for Bella. Over and over and over again, they are not good for her, even in the midst of trying to “protect” her. And the same goes for the bad boys you encounter. There may be a few knight-in-shining-armor moments but, overall, it’s more player than savior that lurks within the man before you. 

Have a Healthy Relationship with Yourself
When you become that we-can-overcome-his-faults-together kind of woman who forgives everything a bad boy does no matter the crime, forget it. In the end, you ultimately won’t like yourself. You give up a piece of your soul to allow a man to behave as haphazardly and recklessly as he pleases. How will a relationship ever work out when he’s got such a hold on you? And when you have such a tentative hold on yourself? 

Listen, what we most like about Bella is when she gets her act together. What she goes through in New Moon is exactly what we don’t want – we don’t want to be broken and lying in the woods. We want the power that comes from not wearing your heart on your sleeve. When you are in your own power you attract power. When we turn into that depressed, morbid creature who cannot function because of a guy, we loathe ourselves and cannot gain any ground. And we really don’t appreciate seeing any other woman sink so low either. Think about it, we’ve all had friends who’ve made excuses about the bad boy in their life, yet they return to him (or another version of him) time and again, lying to themselves, opening up their heart for him to speed all over it with his shiny Volvo or Rabbit. 

Ultimately Bella does find her happy ending, after a long and torturous and near-death road. But that doesn’t happen until Bella becomes a vampire. That’s when Bella is most likeable, most attractive. As soon as Bella becomes the best version of herself (which, yes, we admit just happens to be the vampire version – much more enticing than Bella as a clumsy human always tempting fate) she can protect the people she loves. She comes into the power that she has always had – it was just lying dormant for too long until she gave it the opportunity to thrive. Without even realizing it she was depending on the bad boys of Forks… instead of herself. 

It takes practice to become stronger than your heart’s desire for a bad boy. And change starts with you. Think about it. It’s hard not to love a woman who’s ballsy and tough and has her you-know-what together. That’s why Alice Cullen is so adored. She owns her power. It doesn’t matter how little you are or what you’ve been through. You can still be tough, protect the ones you love and, most of all, protect your own heart so that you can be ready when it’s time to accept the right kind of love that was always meant for you. 

The Edwards and Jacobs will always exist. There will always be bad boys of Forks or Vancouver or London or the middle-of-nowhere. Maybe one of them is your guy. But we hope you can take only the best pieces of these two characters to find a stand-up man who won’t leave you stranded, brokenhearted, or only pretend to love you 

Now, go enjoy the bad boys of Forks in the books and on the screen. Just try to avoid looking for them in real life or you might end up on the floor in a miserable ball with a hole in your heart.

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