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It had been two years since I'd been to La Push. Two years since I'd breathed in the scent of salt and rain. Two years since I'd been consoled by the crashing of the waves against the rocks. Two years since I'd admired a piece of driftwood on the shore. Two years since I'd seen Jacob Black.

Two years and it still felt like home. Even with the rain pouring down and the breeze caressing my skin through my parka – a drastic difference from the last two years I had spent in the sweltering Texas heat – my heart still felt at ease. I trudged up the slope, heading to a small cul-de-sac that was nestled between First Beach and a never-ending amount of trees.

When the tiny, red house came into view, my pulse began to quicken. Everything about the house looked exactly the same. The small porch was painted a dark brown, with a ramp coming off the side in place of steps, an array of empty flower pots were scattered on the opposite side, and right in the middle was the tattered rocking chair that Sarah used to sit in while the kids all played in the front yard. Still exactly the same.

Before I had time to change my mind, I was knocking on the front door and praying that nobody would be home. I still wasn't sure if I would be able to face them – face him. A few seconds passed and I heared the familiar sound of the wheelchair squeak against the old linoleum in the kitchen.

The door opened with a loud creak and I was suddenly face to face with Billy Black. Silence. His eyes searched my face for a long moment before dropping to the saran-wrapped pie that was in my hands.

"Well what the hell are you standing out here for?" Billy guffawed, a playful smile on his lips. "Come on in and let me get a taste of that pie."

I was filled with relief at the invitation, even if it was only because he knew that I made the best pies from La Push to Tacoma. I entered the small kitchen and shut the door behind me, following Billy to the round, wooden table that was in the center of the room. Three chairs sat around it, with a space for Billy to pull his wheelchair up to.

I pulled out the drawer by the sink and prided myself in still knowing where the silverware was. I grabbed a fork and sat the pie directly in front of Billy. "It's blackberry," I told him. "Fresh, too. Made it this morning." His eyes lit up and I watched him take a large fork-full into his mouth, completely satisfied.

"I sure did miss your famous pies," he said in between mouthfuls. I grinned back.

My eyes swept over the place, taking in all the pictures that were hung on the far wall. The worn, checkered couch that sat in the middle of the living room and the small boxed TV that sat opposite. As I sat there in silence, my mind wandered to the last time I was here, when Jacob and I were still best friends. We had spent countless days watching movies on the couch, making ham sandwiches or macaroni and cheese in the kitchen and making out in his bedroom in the middle of the night while Billy was asleep.

I stayed with my cousin Leah that summer and we had been reckless, sneaking out most nights. Sam Uley would pick us both up and they would drop me off at Jacob's house while he and Leah snuck off for a few hours. At those thoughts, my eyes flickered over to the bedroom that belonged to Jacob and my heart skipped a beat. The door was wide open, and his bed was a mess of red sheets but there was absolutely no sign of Jacob. Which then reminded me why I was here.

"Hey, Billy," I focused back to him. He'd already eaten half the pie, and he gave me an impish grin. I grinned back. "Do you know where I could find Jacob?"

Billy's majestic eyes shot up to mine almost instantly, a stunned expression on his face. "I would have thought that Leah or Seth told you," he murmured quietly, putting down his fork.

"We got in late last night, and I came straight over here this morning," I explained to him, confusion clear in my voice. "Why? What's going on?"

"You might want to sit down for this," he said as he laid back in his chair. I obliged and looked at him expectantly. "Jake ran away."

I blinked. "What?"

Billy sighed. "He had a rough year, and things got pretty shaky, so he took off a couple weeks ago. Said he'd be back when he was ready."

Another blink. "Are you serious?"

He nodded, a sad look appearing on his face.

I tried to wrap my mind around the situation. Things got hard and Jacob left. He just, left. That didn't sound at all like the Jacob that I'd known and loved for the last sixteen years of my life.

"What happened?" I asked, still in shock.

Billy shrugged, but didn't say another word. He'd always been the type of parent to let Jacob be. He needed to make his own mistakes and learn from himself. Billy would explain his side but then typically let Jacob experience things for himself.

I tried to think of all the things that could possibly go wrong in Jacob's life that he would need to run away. Maybe it had something to do with school? Or Quil and Embry? A girl?

Billy's rough voice interrupted my inner monologue after a few moments. "Look, I'm gonna be honest with you, Arden," he started. "Jacob's changed a lot. He's a completely different person from the boy you spent days on the beach with. He's had to grow up fast and he got a lot of responsibility in the tribe this year. It's made him a little bitter. He'll come back when he's ready."

…

Leah and I sat quietly on the steps of her back porch. The rain had let up earlier and the sun was just beginning to set. The first thing I noticed about Leah was the hardness in her face. What had once been long, silky, pin-straight hair was now a dishevled pixie cut and her clothes seemed worn.

The old screen door opened and shut loudly and Seth plopped down on the chair by the door. He had also changed. He was still the happy-go-lucky kid I'd always known, but he carried himself differently.

"I'm glad you're back, Arden," Seth boomed, a hand on his stomach. "I sure did miss your pie."

"You know, Billy said the same thing to me today. Nice to know that nobody around here actually missed me for me," I teased, a smile playing at my lips. He grinned back.

Something I said caught Leah's attention. "You've already seen Billy?"

"Yeah," I nodded solemnly. "What's this shit about Jake running away? It's so not like him." Seth and Leah shared a look and I felt my eyebrows raise.

Seth shrugged. "He had a hard year and he bolted for the summer."

"So he's gonna be back in time for school?"

"Actually," Leah interjected. "He never said when he'd come back. We've all just sort of assumed that he'd come back for school."

I sighed, stretching my legs out in front of me. "What exactly do you mean when you say he had a hard year?" I couldn't imagine anything that could make him take off and leave Billy.

They exchanged another glance. "Are you sure you want us to tell you this?" Seth asked warily. I nodded in response.

"Well, he met a girl," Seth began. Just those first few words made my heart clench and I sucked in a deep breath. "She was dating this guy for a while in high school and then his family ended up having to move for some job. Because he moved, they broke up, and she was basically like night of the living dead. She was a total zombie. But she started hanging out with Jake and he made her feel better."

Leah snorted. "Then of course he went and fell stupid in love with her but she didn't love him back."

"She was just starting to have feelings for him," Seth continued, his eyes sad. "When her ex-boyfriend came back. She went right back to him and Jake was pretty torn up about it."

"Wow," I said.

"Well that's not even the worst of it," Leah said, her face pulled into a grimace. "A few weeks ago Jacob got a wedding invitation in the mail. They're getting married at the end of August."

"Yeah that's why he bolted," Seth added. "Because she chose someone else and it's all happening so fast."

I wasn't sure what to say so I didn't say anything. I just thought of Jacob, in love with another girl who didn't love him back. I'd never experienced that kind of pain but I knew it was hard. I could look at Leah and see that she still had feelings for Sam, despite all that he did to her, and know that there were no words to describe it.

"Was it someone we know?" I asked curiously. "From the reservation?"

"Do you remember Charlie Swan? Billy's friend from Forks?" Seth asked. I nodded. "Well it's his daughter. Her name is Bella."

When they exchanged a third glance, I got the feeling that I was missing a chunk of the story but I didn't press. I just looked out into the trees, the pain in my chest overwhelming me. It was hard for me to imagine a life on La Push without Jacob, because I'd never lived like that. I thought that when I came back things might be a little awkward but that we'd find our step back into place. Now I wasn't even sure when I'd see him again.

"You still like him," Leah spoke, her voice breaking me from my thoughts. It wasn't a question, but a statement. She already knew. I shrugged. "He's not the same Jacob you knew two years ago."

"Yeah, yeah," I replied. "So I've heard."

…

The next few days went by in a blur of unpacking boxes and trying to preoccupy myself rather than think about Jacob, which was difficult. Anywhere I went in La Push reminded me of him, because we had done everything together. I was applying for a job as a barista at the local coffee shop when I ran into Embry Call and Quil Ateara. I noticed that Embry had cut his hair and both of them were tall and muscular, just like Seth.

"Are they feeding you guys steroids nowadays?" I asked jokingly.

"You could use some," Quil replied. "Maybe you'd grow a few more inches."

I shook my head. "So what have you guys been up to lately?" I asked as we walked out into the light summer breeze. "Other than walking around the rez without shirts on, of course."

"We've gotta show the ladies what they're missing," Quil replied with a smirk.

Embry rolled his eyes. "Well, school's out. So we just work a lot now."

"Where are you guys working?" I asked.

It took them a few seconds to respond, as if they were debating telling me. "We work with Sam Uley now," Embry replied tentatively. "Sort of like a neighborhood watch thing."

My eyebrows furrowed. Sam Uley has a neighborhood watch program in La Push? I thought. The one town in all of Washington where a neighborhood watch probably isn't even necessary.

I wasn't sure whether or not I was even going to ask until I did. But they were his best friends and maybe they knew more than Leah and Seth did. "So what do you guys think about all of this stuff with Jacob?" I prodded.

They looked at eachother, as if they were expecting this question. Quil shrugged. "Jake will come back when he's ready." Embry nodded in agreement.

I rolled my eyes in frustration. "Is he at least keeping in contact with someone? Letting you guys know that he's alright?"

"Yeah of course," Embry said. "We talk to him every day. He just needed some time."

"I guess I can understand that," I sighed. "At least I'll be here when he gets back."

They were quiet for a moment. "Jacob isn't the same person he was when you left, Arden," Quil said.

I felt the irritation bubble up inside me. Why the hell was everybody telling me that?

"Yeah, Billy and Leah both told me that already, but you know what? I'm different now, too. People change and grow and I've felt a connection with him since I was nine years old. We're meant to be together, and I promise you I've never felt more strongly about anything in my entire life," I paused for a moment. "When he comes back, I'll be there to help put back the pieces. The ones that Bella caused and the ones that I caused. Because that is how it's supposed to be."

Hello all! I wrote a few chapters to this story ages ago and uploaded it, but ended up taking it down. I made quite a few changes to the characters and plot and I'm much happier with how this one is turning out. I'm a huge Twilight fan and mostly follow the path that the books lead however a few changes were still made to the plot. The first is that vampires aren't fertile. The second is that nobody is going to be imprinting on babies or children. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy! Reviews are always welcome.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, and this carries on throughout the story.

-J