Art Of Imprinting, a twilight fanfic

Title: TheArt of Imprinting

Rating: M for language, blood, and rape.

Pairing(s): JacobXMaleOC; EdwardXBella; JasperXAlice; SamXEmily

Summary: Jade was never sure of himself. Every year his parents would move from place to place for as long as he could remember. Now he was stuck in Forks, Washington. Gloomy and rainy. Two things Jade loved. Getting used to life in Forks was easy. He lived across the street from Officer Swan and met Bella and her god-like boyfriend Edward. Just like everyone else, Jade was captivated. He shared classes with Jasper Hale, who captivated him the most. For some reason, Bella wanted to be his friend and now Jade had befriended a few Cullens. It was one night wondering in the dark wet woods beside his house that would change his life forever. The night he met a large wolf. Not long after he met Jacob Black. A friend of Bella's who seemed obsessed with him. It took a while for Jade to put two and two together. A werewolf. Jacob Black wanted Jade and Jade wanted him back. But it wasn't easy dealing with a pack of wolves, a dissolving family, an insanely jealous best friend of the wolf who already had someone of her own, and a vampire on the loose that wanted his body. Imprinting is a complicated thing. Fantasy and reality collide and Jade's life is changed forever.

Warning: Yaoi! BoyXBoy. Don't like? Then don't read. Male OC. Little Bella-bashing. I don't remember if Jasper is in the same grade as Bella but he is now. Also, there's rape. This takes place after New Moon and before Eclipse. When Jacob and Bella aren't talking. The timing might be a little off but live with it. And also, some of the characters might be a little OOC (especially Jasper) but these characters are hard to get down exactly. I tried my best. And I didn't exactly follow the Twilight Saga story line. I changed some things and stuff like that. So don't get all upset. I wrote this exactly how I wanted it so deal with it.

Disclaimer: Twilight and its Characters do not belong to me. They belong to Stephanie Meyer. But Jade belongs to me as well as this story. Song credits at the end.

Oh, and sorry about the WHOLE story being centered... I dind't write ti this way, but fanfic did this when i uploaded it and i'm too lazy to fix it... Sorry. Please don't critize me about that.

thoughts

someone else's thoughts

(Point of View changes a lot so pay close attention to that.)

This time I wonder what it feels like to find the one in this life.

The one we all dream of.

But dreams just aren't enough.

So I'll be waiting for the real thing.

I'll know it by the feeling.

The moment when we're meeting

Will play out like a scene straight off the silver screen.

So I'll be holding my breath right up till the end.

Until that moment when I find the one I'll spend forever with.

Cause nobody wants to be the last one there.

Cause everyone want to feel like someone cares.

Someone to love with my life in their hands.

There's gotta be somebody for me like that.

Cause nobody wants to go it on their own.

Cause everyone wants to know they're not alone.

There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere.

There's gotta be somebody for me out there.

Tonight, out on the street, out in the moonlight

And damnit, this feels too right.

It's just like dejavu, me standing here with you.

So I'll be holding my breath.

Could this be the end?

Is it that moment when I find the one that I'll spend forever with?

Cause nobody wants to be the last one there.

Cause everyone want to feel like someone cares.

Someone to love with my life in their hands.

There's gotta be somebody for me like that.

Cause nobody wants to go it on their own.

Cause everyone wants to know they're not alone.

There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere.

There's gotta be somebody for me out there.

Make sure you're holding on cause it could be the one. The one you're waiting on.

Cause nobody wants to be the last one there.

Cause everyone want to feel like someone cares.

Someone to love with my life in their hands.

There's gotta be somebody for me like that.

Change was something I was used to. After moving to a new town every year of my life, change was now a welcomed friend. I was used to new scenery and new friends. But I was also used to losing those new friends and never seeing them again.

After almost 18 years of leaving new friends, the pain caused an explosion in my mind. I always held the pain in; never letting it out. But it ate away and caused a melt down. Hello Depression. Medication always made it bearable.

Now I was stuck in a car packed full of things with my parents. It was the end of summer and we were moving again. To a tiny little town called Forks. I had never heard of it and I still had yet to fathom why we were moving there. My parents were city people. Not the middle of no where people.

"Jade." Ashley, my mother, spoke while poking my leg. She broke through my thoughts and the music playing in my ears.

I shifted my eyes away from the passing scenery to her, while pausing my iPod. She was turned slightly in her seat before me, a small smile on her lips. "Hm?"

"We're almost there. Are you excited?" Her blue eyes glistened with her own excitement.

I just shrugged. "Sure. New place... New people." I turned my head to fully face her. "But why a small town in Washington?"

"We thought a change would be nice."

"Oh..."

"Look." Anthony, my father, spoke. "There's the town."

Both my mother and I turned to see the upcoming town. I sighed quietly to myself and returned my gaze out the window. The sky was overcast and I hoped the rain would wait till we were moved in.

The movers should have already been at our house by then. The job was probably mostly done except for the few things in this SUV. My parents promised me a real house. Not an apartment like I was used to. I was certainly curious as to what this house would look like.

I sat up in my seat when we entered Forks. It was just like one of those small towns you read about in books and saw in horror movies. Everything seemed to happen in small towns. I wonder why? Because it's quiet? I like that.

I was too lost in my own thoughts to realize we had stopped. I almost fell out the door when Ashley opened it. Luckily I still had my seat belt on.

"Come on, honey! We're here!" She said happily, bouncing a bit before walking away.

I removed my seat belt and climbed out of the green SUV. I slipped my black messenger bag over my shoulder and closed the door. This is it. My new home. I took a moment to gather my thoughts before turning to see my new home.

I gasped. It was beautiful. A white three story with big windows and a wrap around porch. It was aged a bit but beautiful to me. It was the kind of house I'd always wanted to live in. I couldn't wait to see the inside.

I tore my eyes away from the house to see the rest of the property. Off to the side in front was a giant Japanese cherry blossom tree. Behind the house and to the side were woods. But the yard was really open. There wasn't too much separating the house from the road.

I turned to see my parents talking with the movers. It looked like they were done. I shifted my eyes to the house almost directly across the street. I blinked in surprise. It was a nice house but that wasn't what surprised me. There were three vehicles in the driveway. A large red pick-up truck, a shiny silver Volvo, and... A police cruiser? I squinted my eyes and saw it said, "Forks Sheriff's Department". We now lived across the street from the town sheriff? Okay...

"Nice car." I mumbled at the Volvo, slightly jealous since I didn't even have a car of my own.

"Jade!" Ashley called.

I looked over at her and Anthony. They were walking toward me, the moving truck gone. "Yea?"

"They've finished up already." Anthony told me. "Less work for us." He grinned.

Ashley rolled her eyes and nudged him in the ribs. "Only because you took a wrong turn in Nevada and got us lost for three hours."

He shrugged innocently. "Hey, we got here didn't we?"

She nodded and bounced over to me. My mother was a small woman for her age. Then again she was only 35. She was 5'4" with long wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. Even I knew she was beautiful. "What do you think, love?" She asked, wrapping her arm around my torso and turning me to face the house. "Do you like it?"

"I love it." I told her with a smile. Her face lit up and she started hopping around, clapping her hands.

"Wait till you see the inside." Anthony's voice was deep and rough. I glanced at him and nodded. Though I took after him more, we were still so different. We shared our black hair (even though mine was dyed) and green eyes but I had yet to reach his height of 6'1". I was about 6 inches shorter than him. I was in middle between my parents in height.

"Oh yes! The inside!" Ashley suddenly grabbed my hand and started to pull me inside. My father chuckled and started to open the trunk of the SUV.

My father was right though. The inside was incredible. The foray opened up to two rooms, a stair case, and a hallway. On one side were a living room and the other seemed to be another sitting room. Surely it would become Anthony's office. The living room opened up to the kitchen that then opened up to a dining room at the back of the house. There was a back door in the laundry room. I could only imagine how the place would look after my mother was done decorating.

Ashley then dragged me upstairs. There were two different hallways. One led to my parent's room with their own bath while the other led to my room. Apparently, the third floor was an attic.

Ashley let go of my hand when we entered my hallway. She smiled sheepishly at me before pushing me forward. The walls were a light tan color and I noticed three different doors. Curious I opened the one on the left. A bathroom. Simple enough. Then I opened the door across from it.

I felt my breath escape my lungs as I stared at the room with wide eyes. There wasn't much in it, but I knew what it was. I turned to my mother with glistening green eyes. "A... s-studio?" I asked in awe.

She nodded once. "You deserve it after putting up with all this moving. You're going somewhere with your art, sweetie. We wanted to make you happy."

"Thank you!" I quickly wrapped my arms around her. "Thank you so much!" I almost picked her up, I was so happy.

She giggled and returned the hug. "I'm so glad you like it. You can do what ever you want with it. Even do that mural you've wanted."

I grinned and pulled back. "Yes!"

She rolled her eyes and pushed me down the hallway. "You still have a bedroom you know."

"Oh... Right." I laughed softly and opened the door at the end of the hallway. It was defiantly bigger than my old rooms. My bed sat pushed against the wall by the window just how I liked it. My dresser was across from it and my desk was next to that. I even had a small closet. My things were still in boxes on the floor.

I walked around them and to the window to see the cherry blossom tree outside my window. I smiled. This is perfect... My heart clenched at the thought. This'll all be gone come another year...

"Do you like it?" Ashley asked, her voice hopeful.

I sighed softly and turned to her with a smile. "I love it."

She returned the smile. "Really?"

"Really."

"Good." She winked at me and then left down the hallway.

I stood there a moment, taking everything in. This was perfect. Everything. But school started in a week for me. That was when I would know if it really was perfect. I had a hunch it would be though.

I ran a pale hand through my ear length black and red streaked hair before deciding to unpack. It didn't take long really. I didn't have that much stuff. Only the essentials and a few personal things. My big room seemed kinda bland now. The only thing that stood out against the off white walls was my lime green lap top sitting on my desk. My only connection with my friends back in Austin.

I glanced around my room and realized everything was mostly black. My bed and the covers. My desk and dresser. Even my wardrobe. I shrugged and left the room, my black sneakers shuffling against the hard wood floor. I considered setting up my studio but I heard voices floating up the stairs. Two I knew but the others I didn't. I thought for a moment before running to the bathroom. I checked myself in the mirror to make sure I was presentable. They were probably neighbors.

My green eyes were shining back at me and my pale face was flushed slightly. I fixed my hair a bit, making sure my bangs were pushed to one side. My black eyeliner was a little smudged so I fixed that as well. Then I heard my mom call my name. With one last glance in the mirror, I made my way downstairs. I followed the voices outside onto the porch. There I found my parents with three other people I did not recognize.

"There he is." Ashley motioned me over. I came up next to her and looked the three people over. "Jade this is Officer Swan." The man seemed a little worse for wear but I nodded at him. He smiled at me. "His daughter Bella." My eyes landed on the girl standing beside her father. She was pretty but I'd seen prettier. She looked nice though so I smiled at her. She returned it. "And Bella's boyfriend, Edward Cullen."

My body froze at the man called Edward. He was standing very close to Bella. It took a few seconds to realize I was staring. Well, who wouldn't? Edward looked like a character I would paint or something.

"Nice to meet you." Edward spoke, his voice sending chills up my spine.

I nodded, swallowing hard. "Hi. I'm Jade."

"Officer Swan and Bella live across the street." Ashley said to me.

"If you ever need anything, we're more than happy to help." Officer Swan told my mother. They continued to speak while I observed Edward and Bella.

Bella was shifting her feet while Edward was still as stone. He looked like he was made of stone. He held himself elegantly. To me, he was like some character from a romance novel or something. I noticed his lips turn up slightly in a tiny smirk. I wondered why he was smirking and apparently so was Bella. His lips moved slightly, telling her something that I couldn't hear.

It was then that her brown eyes met mine. I was taken back for a second but forced a smile. She looked me over before returning the smile. For some reason, I was starting to like her. She seemed innocent enough. Maybe we'd be friends. Edward too. But who knew.

Ashley and Officer Swan finally said their goodbyes and the three new people left. I waved goodbye to them as they walked away. Bella returned the wave before turning her attention to Edward. Yea... they're in love.

I smiled to my mother before going back inside. I wanted to paint. I wasn't sure what but I was bound to figure out something.

Bella's POV

(little after Jade arrives)

Edward and I were sitting at the kitchen table of the Swan home when Charlie walked in with a smile on his face.

"Our new neighbors are here."

Edward turned slightly toward him. "New neighbors?" He then turned to me with a smile. "You didn't tell me you were getting new neighbors."

I just shrugged lightly, nibbling on the apple in my hands. "I didn't know."

"I told you two weeks ago, Bella." Charlie said gruffly.

I smiled innocently at him. "Sorry, Dad."

"That's alright. Now let's go meet them."

I blinked at him. "Why?"

"They live across the street. They're from Texas and it's the neighborly thing to do."

"But-"

"He's right Bella." Edward said elegantly, getting to his feet. "It's polite to welcome them."

Charlie nodded in agreement with Edward. Ha! There's a first... He still had yet to forgive Edward for leaving me...

"Fine." I sighed and got to my feet. "Let's go."

Both men smiled at me and Charlie moved to the door. Edward held out his hand to me and I eagerly took it. His cool skin always felt nice to me.

We left the house and walked across the road to the big house. I always envied this house. A tall man, about 30, was going through the trunk of a green SUV.

"Hello there." Charlie called out to him as we approached.

The man popped his head out and smiled, his green eyes glowing. "Well, hello."

Edward and I followed Charlie over to the man. "I'm Officer Charlie Swan. You can just call me Charlie" He held out his hand to the man. "Welcome to Forks."

"Thank you." The man smiled and shook Charlie's hand. "I'm Anthony Cripton and my wife is inside. She'll be back in a moment."

They released hands. "Oh, well this is my daughter Bella and her... boyfriend, Edward." Charlie had a little trouble with that word.

I smiled at Anthony. "Nice to meet you both." He said. "My son's about your age. He'll be a senior this coming year."

Charlie perked up at the mention of a son. Any chance he could to get me away from Edward... "Oh? You have a son?"

"Sure do."

"Honey!" A soft feminine voice called from the front door. We all turned to see a small woman standing there. I blinked. She looked like a mix between Alice and Rosalie. I snickered softly to myself.

Anthony smiled and led us over to her onto the porch. "Honey this is Charlie Swan and his daughter Bella. Bella's boyfriend Edward as well."

"Oh hello!" She grinned at us. "I'm Ashley. It's nice to meet you."

"You as well." Charlie said. They continued to talk but I spaced out. I wasn't sure if Edward was listening or pretending to. I was kinda interested in meeting their son. I mean, it wasn't everyday that Forks got a new student. I remembered my first day at school. Poor boy... I should probably warn him. It can kinda be overwhelming to be the center of attention. Then again... Maybe this guy wouldn't mind... Who knows. His parents are normal and nice enough.

I felt a soft nudge from Edward and I looked up to see a boy standing in the doorway. His mother called him over and introduced us. I could only smile at him. I'd never seen a boy like him before. Jade? Cool name. Matches his eyes... I felt Edward tense slightly beside me but thought nothing of it.

Our parents continued to speak but I was wondering about this guy. He was bound to stand out in school. Pale, all black, red streaked hair, vibrant green eyes, eyeliner. I had to admit. This guy was pretty attractive. But, of course, nothing compared to Edward.

I noticed my personal Adonis smirk and for a second I wondered if he read my thoughts. He couldn't of course, mine being the only ones, so I nudged his arm. His golden eyes connected with mine and he whispered low enough for only me to hear.

"Later."

I turned my eyes to Jade to find the guy already looking at me. I eyed him once before smiling at him. He returned the smile and his eyes glowed softly. My heart clenched. That smile... I know that smile... Just like...

Edward noticed my changed of mood but said nothing. Yet. Finally everyone said goodbye and we left. I waved back at Jade before turning back to Edward. He was eyeing me, wondering what I was thinking.

"You know Bella," Charlie spoke as we entered our home once more. "Jade seems like a nice boy. You should help him adjust to things here. You know what it's like to be new."

I just nodded. "Yea."

"Besides," He glanced at Edward, "You need more friends especially since you and Jacob aren't talking for some reason."

My heard clenched tightly at the mention of my former best friend. "Right dad, I'll help Jade." I forced out. Jade... Jake... weird...

Charlie smiled. "Great. Well the games on and it's nine." He glanced at Edward.

"Right. Time to go." Edward smiled and Charlie left us to say goodbye. "Tell me what's on your mind later?" Edward asked softly, kissing my forehead.

"As long as you do." I smiled at him.

He nodded. "Goodnight, Bella."

"Night."

He smiled at me before leaving. I sighed and made my way upstairs. I hated being grounded... My own fault though. Atleast Charlie let Edward come over at all.

Time seemed to pass quickly as I waited for Charlie to go to bed. He told me goodnight and left. I sat on my bed for ten minutes before I expected Edward to come through my window. But he didn't. Twenty more minutes and I got worried. I stood up to look out the window but he was suddenly there. I smiled and watched him come in. I sat back down and he came over to me.

"What kept you?" I asked.

"Your new neighbor." He sat beside me. Immediately I was in his arms.

"My new neighbor?"

"Jade. He's sitting in his front yard painting the moon. He has a direct view of your window. So I had to be careful."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Outside... painting the moon?" Edward nodded. "Weird..."

"Actually, he's pretty good." He paused. "I saw it through his mind." He explained.

"Oh." I shrugged. "Okay. So why were you kinda tense meeting them?"

"Jade thought you were pretty but had seen prettier." He mumbled softly.

I blinked. "Uh... So?"

Edward stared at me like I was crazy. "There is no one more beautiful than you."

My heart fluttered at his words. "To you."

"Isn't that what matters?"

"True... Well what was with the smirk?"

The smirk returned. "He thought I was some character out of a romance novel."

"Uh well he'd be right." I nodded. "A 18th century one. About a noble prince."

He smiled at me. "Why was there a sudden mood change?"

I blinked before lowering my eyes. "Oh..."

"Oh?" He lifted my chin with a cool finger.

I sighed. "His smile reminded me of..." I bit my lip. Could I even say his name anymore?

But Edward understood without being told. He pulled me into his arms and let me rest against his stone chest. The whole vampire VS werewolf thing sucked...

Jade's POV

It barely ever rained back in Austin. But here in Forks? It rained a lot or looked like it was going to rain. I loved it. Especially when I realized I could get on the roof of the porch from my studio window. It was flat, so I could crawl around all the way to the front if I wanted.

The next week flew by. I spent it helping my mom decorate or painting. My parents also bought me a used car which was a first. Did it mean something? I begged for a car on my 16th birthday but they said it'd be more to move... Were we not moving again? It was too much to hope for.

But I loved my car. A 2002 Nissan Maxima. My favorite color. Dark green. It would sparkle in the sun too... if the sun ever came out. It had a sun roof and leather seats. It was in great shape for a used car. Even had a CD player which made me extremely happy. I could even plug my iPod into it.

I awoke Monday morning with a dilemma. Who would I be this year? It was my senior year, so it had to be good. I'd already been a prep, jock, geek, loner and Goth. Thus the hair. It was so easy to pretend to be someone else when you knew you'd leave at the end of the year.

I dug through my wardrobe and picked out something good. Senior year... Time to be myself. I dressed in dark jeans with a chain attached to them and a black slim fitted t-shirt with a bleeding heart on it. I pulled on a black hoddie over that since it was raining once again.

I fixed my hair to go to one side and easily put on my eyeliner. I put on two wrist cuffs, one with a band name on it, the other checkered black and white. I clipped on my black spiked collar and slipped on my skull covered DVS' before deeming myself ready for school.

I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder before heading downstairs. I found my mother in the kitchen. She grinned when she saw me walk in.

"Going Emo this year?"

I blinked at her in surprise as I sat down at the small round table. "How do you even know what Emo is?" I placed my bag beside me on the floor.

"Darling, I'm not that old." She rolled her blue eyes as she placed a plate of eggs and sausage in front of me.

I muttered a 'thanks' before taking a bite. "Well to answer your question, no. I'm myself."

Her small face lit up. "That's great! You'll make a lot of new friends that way!"

I shrugged and continued eating my breakfast. Once I was done, she took my plate and I gathered my things. "I should get there early to get my schedule and stuff."

Ashley smiled at me. "Of course. Good luck."

I smiled back before grabbing my keys and leaving. I pulled the black hood of my jacket over my head so the rain wouldn't ruin my hair. I quickly ran to my car, almost slipping in the mud, and got in. I pulled my hood back down and tossed my bag into the passenger's seat. I started up the car and noticed the SUV was gone. Anthony must have gone to work.

I glanced at the clock before backing out of the muddy driveway. Fork's high school was easy enough to find. I found the building called 'Office' and parked outside. I quickly ran inside so my hair wouldn't get too wet.

The small brunette lady at the desk looked up when the door closed behind me. She smiled at me as I approached her.

"Um... Hi. I'm Jade Cripton."

"Ah yes." She started looking for something. "The new boy from Texas, correct?"

"Yea." I watched her move folders around her desk in search of something.

"It's not every day we get a new student. So don't let the other students intimidate you, okay?" I just nodded. "Ah ha!" She lifted up a yellow folder. "Here it is." She handed it to me. My name was written on it. "It has your schedule, times, a map, and a few other things you might need."

"Thanks."

"Good luck."

I gave her a smile before stuffing the folder under my oversized hoodie so it wouldn't get wet. Once in my car, I noticed other students arriving. I followed them to the student parking area. Good. It's not assigned parking...

I turned off my car and left the radio on. There was still twenty minutes before the first class. Secondhand Serenade filled my car as I looked through the folder. My schedule was simple enough. Gym... I shuddered at the thought.

My first class was English in Building D. Room 16. After looking at the map, it was easy enough to find. For a small town, it was a pretty big school. I glanced at the clock and decided to get to class anyway. I pulled my hood up, put my bag over my shoulder, and got out. I locked my car behind me and made my way to the school. There were more kids around but they were heading inside as well. No one even noticed me. I was thankful for that.

I was one of the first few to get to my English class. The teacher, Mrs. Redman, smiled when she saw me. I had only missed about a week of school, so I was hoping I didn't miss much. I pulled my hood down and walked over to her.

"You must be Jade." She was an older woman, possibly in her 50's. Her eyes wrinkled as she smiled at me.

"Yup."

"Welcome." She said with a grin. "You haven't missed much. Lucky you." She held out a paperback book. "We just started on this."

I took the book and read the title. Beowulf... Already read it. But I smiled at her anyway. "Okay."

"Seats are assigned." She started digging through piles of papers on her desk. As she did so, a bell rang and I finally noticed a class full of students. I glanced at them from the corner of my eye. Shit. They were all staring at me and whispering to each other. "Here we are." She found what she was looking for. "Oh." She blinked in surprise at her class room full of students. "Class has started."

A few students laughed softly at her. She smiled and motioned for me to turn to the class. I did so, begrudgingly. "Everyone, this is Jade Cripton. He just moved here from Austin, Texas. So be nice and welcome him." A few students smiled at me, mainly girls, while the others just stared at me. Except one. He was watching Mrs. Redman with his golden eyes. Just like Edwards. "Well Jade, you can sit..." She looked around the room. "Beside Jasper. Raise your hand Jasper."

The boy with golden eyes and hair raised his hand. So He's Jasper... I nodded to Mrs. Redman before taking my seat beside Jasper. The desks were pushed together in pairs. I placed Beowulf on my desk and kept my eyes on the teacher.

I could practically feel everyone's eyes on me. What is with these people? I wasn't that different. The only one not staring was Jasper and for that I was grateful. He was handsome... Like Edward. I wondered if they were brothers or related somehow.

My next few classes before lunch went the same. I was glad I didn't have to introduce myself but I was getting annoyed with the staring. Sure, I've moved a lot and gone to a bunch of new schools, but usually after the first class people would stop staring or just ignore me. Not Forks... Jasper was in every class so far and I always sat next to him. It seemed to be the only empty seat in every class. I didn't speak to him though. He seemed to have no interest in me and I was actually glad for that.

Lunch rolled around and I found myself not hungry. So, I found an empty table and sat down. I pulled out my sketch book and started drawing Jasper. For some reason, I was drawn to him. Like Edward. His profile was absolutely perfect. Weird...

It took me a moment to notice people had sat down at the same table as me. I blinked and looked up to see Bella sitting right across from me with Edward beside her. A little ways down were a few kids from my classes and they were still, if not more, staring at me. I felt a presence beside me and turned to see Jasper. Beside him was a pretty little girl with short black hair. I blinked again and looked at Bella, expectantly.

"You looked lonely." She said softly. "That's Jasper and Alice."

I nodded to the girl beside Jasper, whose eyes were locked on my open book. A smirk was on her tiny lips and it took me a moment to realize they could all see it. Jasper was smirking faintly.

"So how do you like it so far, Jade?" Edward asked, playing with Bella's hand.

I tilted my head slightly. These people are seriously talking to me? Anyone else notice the distance people are giving them? What makes me so special? Bella feel obligated to talk to me? I saw Edward nod faintly.

"People keep staring." I mumbled.

"It'll stop after a while." Bella said. "I was the last new student... It can get annoying." She sighed.

"You're telling me..."

"Jasper told me you two have the same classes and sit together." Edward spoke. "That's probably not helping." He smiled at Jasper. "He tends to gain his own attention."

"It's true." Alice piped up. "We all do."

"Are you..." I glanced between Edward and Jasper. "Related?"

"Kind of. They're brothers but adopted." Bella answered.

"Ah." I reached for my sketch book but found it gone. I looked up and saw Alice looking at it. At the picture of Jasper I was working on. Jasper was looking too. Edward and Bella were watching Alice.

"Wow! You're really good!" She grinned, handing it back. I flipped it closed.

"Thank you."

"But why Jasper?" She grinned, leaning over said person. "I mean, I know he's gorgeous and all but why not Edward?"

The others turned to me for an answer as well. I swallowed hard and felt the heat against my cheeks. I lifted my sketch book and flipped to a page I did last night.

"Oh." Bella gasped and took the book from my hands to get a better look. "Edward, it looks just like you."

Edward looked it over before smiled and meeting my eyes. He looked sincerely flattered. "You have talent."

"Um... Thanks." I suddenly wanted to disappear. It was so embarrassing.

Edward plucked the book from Bella's hands, flipped it closed and then held it out to me. I smiled, grateful, and took it back, hugging it to my chest.

"Would you do one of me?" Alice was suddenly on my other side.

I blinked at her. "Um... If you want."

She grinned, nodding her head. "I'd love that."

"Okay."

Lunch ended soon after that and I found myself following Jasper to Art. We didn't sit right next to each other but close. Then my last two periods I walked with Jasper and sat next to him. I did have every class with him. But I also had my last two classes with Edward and Bella. Gym was my last period. I didn't have to change since I didn't have clothes, So Mr. Marl just had me sit on the bench and watch everyone else play. I was happy to sit out.

I watched Edward and Jasper. They moved so swiftly and elegantly it was hard to keep up. Bella, on the other hand, fell atleast three times. She was as clumsy as me. Glad I wasn't the only one.

School ended shortly after and I was happy to go home. It had been a long day of kids staring. I was tired and annoyed when I got home. I locked myself in my studio and let out some frustration.

It was two weeks before anyone other than Bella, Edward or Alice said anything to me. Jasper had yet to say anything to me either but we walked to class together... So that counted for something.

It was a sunny Friday. One of the first sunny days yet and Edward, Alice, and Jasper were gone. Bella told me they were on a camping trip. They apparently did that a lot on sunny weekends.

So I was left alone in my classes. It was pretty lonely without Jasper. Even though the guy never said a word to me. At lunch, I sat with Bella who's other friends (her normal friends) joined us.

"Jade, right?" A pretty girl called Angela asked. She was in a few of my classes.

"Yea. Angela?"

She smiled. "Yup. I saw the painting you're working on in art. It's incredible!" The boy beside her grimaced. Ben I think... Her boyfriend.

"Oh. Um... Well thanks."

"You have a great talent. Is it natural? Or did you take lessons?"

"Natural... I've been painting longer than I've been able to talk."

Her face lit up. "Wow!"

I smiled at her, liking her enthusiasm. I saw Bella flinch out of the corner of my eyes but when I turned to look at her she looked perfectly fine. So I didn't think anything of it.

"Did you guys hear about the bear?" Mike (?) said from next to Bella. "A few hikers were talking about it at the store."

"I heard about that." Ben said, happy to change the subject.

"Aren't the Cullens camping?" Angela asked Bella.

She blinked. "Oh, they'll be fine."

Mike nodded. "Yea. People only see them around the reservation."

"Reservation?" I spoke up.

"Yea. La Push." Angela answered. "It's an Indian reservation not too far from here."

My eyes widened slightly. "There's an Indian reservation? Cool."

"Yea! Bella knows a few of them, don't you Bella?" Mika said.

I noticed her flinch against. She lowered her eyes on the table. "I don't... See them anymore."

"Oh right. They don't like the Cullens." Angela sounded sympathetic.

I glanced around, completely confused. Don't like the Cullens? Reason being? There's more going on then being said... I noticed Bella's mood get more depressed the more the other three spoke about it. Thankfully, the bell rang. Everyone gathered their things and went their separate ways. I followed after Bella since her class was near mine anyway. I wasn't sure if she noticed me beside her so I touched her arm when we reached her class. She finally raised her head and looked at me.

"You alright? Something about La Push got your mood down."

She blinked then shook her head. "I'm fine."

"No you're not."

She sighed. "I just... lost a friend due to... complications."

It wasn't my business so I didn't ask. "Oh. I'm sorry. But cheer up, Kay?" I gave her a big smiled. "Edward wouldn't like to see you like this." Since the guy's obsessed with your happiness.

"You're right." She smiled softly, her mood brightening a bit. "Now get to Art before you're late."

"Yes, Ma'am." I saluted her which caused a giggle. I smiled at her before going off to my class.

I hated the nights when my imagination would just go completely blank on me. Those nights when I couldn't even sketch because I had no will to. I hated those nights because they were also the nights when my insomnia was at its worse.

I hated having insomnia. It was a side effect of the anti-depressants I had to take. I usually spent my insomnia filled nights painting. But tonight... my mind was being stubborn... Back in Austin when this would happen, I'd walk to the park down the road and spend the majority of the nights sitting on a swing watching the moon. I couldn't do any moon watching tonight. The moon was out but it was raining.

I stared out my window, watching the clouds move across the almost full moon, giving it a creepy look. I sighed and my eyes shifted to the woods beside the house. I thought for only a moment before putting my shoes on and pulling a black hoodie over my head. I slipped on my dark blue rain coat and grabbed my lime green iPod.

Sneaking out was always easy. I was out the back door without being noticed in a matter of minutes. I stuffed my earphones in my ears and the sweet sound of Paramore started to play. I pulled my hood over my spiky hair and stuffed my hands into the pocket of my hoodie. I glanced around before walking off into the woods.

I am outside and I've been waiting for the sun.

With my wide eyes, I've seen worlds that don't belong.

My mouth is dry with words I can not verbalize.

Tell me why we live like this.

Keep me safe inside.

Your arms like towers.

Tower over me.

The wet ground was soft under my feet as I moved through the woods. The moon made a great light. I had no idea where I was going but I was sure I wouldn't get lost. The woods had to end at some point. The rain fell so softly around me that I almost forgot it was raining at all.

We are broken.

What must we do to restore our innocence?

And all the promise we adored.

Give us life again.

Cause we just wanna be whole.

My mind was blank as I moved on. I concentrated on the music playing in my ears. I wasn't sure how long I had been walking when I came to a clearing in the woods. I tilted my head and stepped into it. It was round with a log but other than that, it was nothing but wet grass.

I pulled an earphone from one ear and looked up at the sky. The moon was shining right above the clearing. The rain had stopped so I lowered my hood. The sky was pretty clear; clearer than it was when I left.

Lock the doors.

Cause I'd like to capture this voice that came to me tonight.

So everyone will have a choice.

And under red lights, I'll show myself it wasn't forged.

We're at war. We live like this.

Keep me safe inside.

Your arms like towers.

Tower over me.

Then I heard something snap. I spun around at the sound but saw nothing. It was too dark to see too far into the woods. Probably just a raccoon or something... Mike's mention of bear's flashed through my mind but I wasn't even close to la Push. Atleast... I thought I wasn't...

My heart sped up as I glanced around the clearing. This was a stupid idea. Walking in the woods in the middle of the night... alone. Very, very stupid...

Another snap made me jump. Foot steps. Large heavy foot steps. My breath hitched when I big dark shadow moved in the woods. My heart pounded in my ears when the fear finally hit me. I could feel my hands shaking at my sides.

My heart and body froze when something stepped out into the clearing about ten feet away from me. The beast was huge with reddish brown fur. It stopped walking halfway into the clearing when it noticed me.

A wolf...? A GIANT WOLF?!

I found my breath again but my heart rate increased. My eyes locked with the beasts big brown eyes. It didn't move at all. Frozen like a statue but its eyes bored into me. It looked surprised to see me. Is that... even possible?

We are broken.

What must we do to restore our innocence?

And all the promise we adored.

Give us life again.

Cause we just wanna be whole.

I didn't know how long we stood there staring at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Suddenly, the wolf tilted its head up slightly, like it was being called. The wolf locked eyes with me once again before turning around and disappearing into the woods.

Tower over me.

And I'll take the truth at any cost.

As soon as the wolf disappeared, I spun around and took off running. I tripped a few times over rocks and tree stumps, but I kept going. Fear and relief rushed through my body all at the same time. The rain had started again and I was getting soaked. I finally reached my back door, covered in mud. But I didn't stop. I quickly ran upstairs, into my studio. I ripped off my coat and hoodie then kicked off my shoes.

I paused for a few minutes, glancing around the room, catching my breath. I ignored the cold wet mud seeping into my jeans as I dug around the room for a blank canvas. Once I found one I set it up on the stand and pulled my stool over to it. I grabbed my paints and set them on the stand. I opened the brown and red, my heart still pounding in my ears. I dipped the paint brush in the brown then started making large strokes on the blank canvas.

Bella's POV

I awoke with a start. I was ripped from my dream and was glad the nightmare was over. I sighed and noticed I was in bed alone. I sat up suddenly but relaxed when I saw Edward leaning against my window, looking out.

"Edward?" I whispered softly.

He snapped his head up and smiled at me. "Did I wake you?"

I shook my head. "No. What are you doing?"

He shifted his golden eyes back outside. "Jade went for a walk in the woods."

I glanced at the clock. "At 3:16 in the morning?"

"No. He left at midnight."

I blinked. "He's not back yet?"

"No. I was debating going after him or not."

"And how would you explain that?"

"I'd think of something."

I smiled and leaned back against the wall. "I wonder why he's walking in the woods in the middle of the night..."

"I'm unsure." Edward's golden eyes roamed the woods. "Perhaps he got lost."

I bit my bottom lip, slightly worried. "You think?"

Edward opened his mouth but snapped it shut. His eyes narrowed before turning to me. "Stay here." And he was out the window before I could react.

My eyes widened, worry filling my body. I moved to the edge of my bed and placed my feet on the cool floor. But before I could stand, Edward was back. I blinked and tilted my head at him. "Well?"

"He ran into Jacob."

My eyes felt like they might pop out of my head. "What?"

Edward glanced out the window once more. "He ran all the way back. He's safe now but I'm pretty sure he saw Jacob."

"W-Wolf... Jacob?"

"Yes."

"Is... he okay?"

"Terrified."

Jacob's POV

I ran as fast as my four paws could carry me. I still wasn't sure what possessed me to run that far away from the border. I was sure Sam wasn't going to be too happy with me. Oh well... But that boy. He saw me. I had no idea who he was though. I'd never seen him before... And what was he doing in the woods in the middle of the night? Stupid Kid... My heart clenched tightly suddenly. I was suddenly frozen with the thoughts and images that started to flow through my mind.

EW, Jacob imprinted on a boy~. Leah's voice teased in my head.

Who was he? Quil asked.

Never seen him before. Can we even imprint on a guy? Embry's voice snapped me out of it.

W-What?

Can we, Sam? Quil asked, making his way toward me. I was still in too much shock to move.

I'm not sure... But I think Jacob has. Sam answered.

I sat on my hind legs, my heart pounding. Imprint? Me? Seriously? I... on a guy? That I don't even know?!

It happened to Jared. Embry said, moving to me as well.

'Cept it was a girl. Leah added staying put.

Yea. You never crossed me as the guy loving type, Jacob. Quil laughed. What about Bella?

Bella... Suddenly, she didn't matter to me. Not at all. I just wanted to see that boy again.

Yup. He's imprinted if he doesn't care about Bella anymore. Embry was close.

It's about time. Quil was only a few yards away.

This makes no sense...

Imprinting never does. Quil stepped through the tress and approached me. You ok? He sat down in front of me.

I... have no idea.

How you feeling? Embry trotted up beside Quil before sitting as well.

A flash of that boy went through my head. I shook my large head to make it go away.

You want to see him again. It was a statement. Not a question from Sam who was trotting toward Leah.

I was suddenly very glad Paul and Jared weren't out. This was embarrassing enough... Imprinting on a boy I'd never seen before.

I wonder who he is... Embry titled his head to the side.

Sam, have you ever heard of one of our kind imprinting on a boy? Quil asked.

No. But obviously it's possible.

Makes no sense. Leah spoke up. Imprinting is to carry on the line. He can't do that with a male.

True...

I was still trying to wrap my mind around it. Did I... really... just imprint... on a guy?

Yes. Sam spoke. I know how it feels and you've defiantly imprinted.

He was pretty cute... Leah teased.

I felt a growl break through my throat.

He's already possessive! Embry barked out a laugh.

I rolled my eyes at him. Shut up.

You should go see him in your human form to really see what happens. Sam suggested.

I have no clue who he is, or where he's from.

Come on Jake. You're a wolf. Just follow his scent. Embry said to me.

It'll be morning soon. Let's head back. Sam said.

Everyone was in agreement. Sam and Leah phased back. Embry and Quil stayed with me a few minutes longer.

Good luck, Man. Embry told me.

Yea, introduce him when you get him. Quil told me before they both took off home.

I stayed there a moment longer before turning around and heading back to the clearing. I picked up the boy's scent quickly. It was unique and I liked it. A lot... I followed the scent to the end of the woods. His scent led to a nice house a few yards away from the edge of the woods. I knew where I was. I glanced at the house across from the boy's. So maybe I could find out who he was from Bella.

Wouldn't hurt. Quil said before phasing back.

I inwardly sighed and took off back home. Quil was right. It wouldn't hurt to try.

Jade's POV

The paint brush fell from my hand and clattered to the white sheet protecting the hard wood floor beneath me. I winced at the cramp in my hand. I cradled my right hand to my chest as I looked the elaborate painting over. Atleast I finished it before this cramp happened...

It was perfect. The wolf I saw the night before was shadowed by the dark forest with the moon in the sky behind it. I hoped I got the fur color right. That was hard. But I was fairly satisfied with the painting. It took me the rest of the night and the sun was now up.

I sighed and massaged my cramped hand. I covered my paints and got to my feet. I stretched, rubbing the back of my sore neck. I yawned, finally feeling tired. I cradled my hand in the other against my chest as I made my way back to my room.

"Jade?" Ashley's voice stopped me and I blinked, turning to face her. She was standing at the end of the hallway, still in her robe. "Were you up all night?"

I nodded. "I couldn't sleep."

She nodded, eyeing my hand. "Good thing it's Saturday. Did you hurt your hand?" She walked toward me.

"Oh um... It's just cramped."

Her blue eyes lit up. "Were you painting?"

"Yea..."

She grinned, moving into my studio. "You always paint the best stuff when you're suffering from Insomnia. Oh!" She gasped, moving to the drying painting in the middle of the room. "Jade! This is amazing!"

"Uh... Thanks?" I walked up behind her.

"This wolf is absolutely beautiful. And the way the moon is reflecting off his fur!" She grinned at me. His fur? Hm... Yea. Looks male I suppose... "This is the best I think you've ever done!" I couldn't help but blush. "Where did you get the idea from?"

I bit my lower lip. I couldn't tell her the truth. "It just kinda came to me."

Ashley grinned at me. "You've always loved wolves but this is the first time you've actually painted one!"

"Yea..."

She then remembered my hand. "Oh! Get to bed sweetie. I'll get some ice for your hand."

"Thanks."

I was thankful it was Saturday. I only slept till about noon but it was better than nothing. I snuggled more into my pillow, too comfy to move. My dreams were filled with that wolf and I really wanted to see it again. Last night, I had been scared. But now... I was curious. It didn't seem to want to eat me or anything. In fact, for a giant wolf... It kinda looked friendly. Yea... I was losing my mind.

I rolled out of bed and made my way to my bathroom. I did my business than looked myself over in the mirror. I grimaced at my reflection. My eyeliner was smeared off so the dark blue circles under my eyes were revealed. My eyes were blood shot and I looked more pale than normal. And my hair... Oh god my hair...

I decided a nice hot shower would do me some good. I stripped out of my clothes and turned the water on in the bath. Once it was a good temperature, I turned the shower on. I stood up straight and was about to get in the shower when something caught my eye. I twisted my body to get a better look at the figure on my outer thigh. I ran my fingers over the black wolf silhouette tattooed into my skin. I got it a year ago on a dare. I didn't regret it. It was very well done and it didn't hurt that bad. Plus it was only the size of my palm. I looked the tattoo over before sighing and getting into the shower.

Considering the night before was rainy, I was surprised to find a clear sky. I considered something for only a few seconds before grabbing my messenger bag with my sketch book in it and left the house. My parents were in town so I escaped into the woods without being noticed. At first, I was worried I wouldn't be able to find the clearing from the night before.

After an hour and a half of walking, I finally found it. I didn't realize it took me that long last night. I stepped into the forest green covered clearing and looked up at the bright sun shining down. I smiled and removed my bag from over my shoulder.

I pulled a small blanket from my bag and laid it on the slightly wet ground, in the middle of the clearing. I plopped down on it and took out my sketch book. I stuck in my earphones, grabbed a pencil, and lost myself in my own imagination.

About an hour later, I stuffed my pencil behind my ear and smiled down at my sketch. It was the wolf again. Am I becoming obsessive? I sighed and rolled my shoulders, my neck a little stiff. The warmth of the sun felt good against my skin. Course, the only skin showing was my face and neck... still felt good though.

A shiver went down my spine and it felt like someone was watching me. I blinked and raised my head. A surge of fear ran through my body before it disappeared. The wolf from the night before was standing about five feet away from me. I finally got to see how big it actually was. My eyes locked with its eyes once again. I wasn't scared. Curious? Yes. Confused? Yes. But scared? Not really.

I started to wonder if I'd have another staring contest with the wolf. But it just lowered itself to its belly and crossed its paws in front of it before resting its head on them. It was only a few feet away from me. Close enough, that I could touch it if I wanted to. Its big brown eyes stayed locked on me though.

I took this moment to really look it over. Its fur was soft looking, a much brighter red-brown than in the dark. Its head had to be about the size of a bears. Its paws were bigger than my messenger bag. The wolf was gigantic. No doubt about that. But it seemed harmless. It was just watching me; as curious about me as I was about it.

The tension disappeared. I smiled softly at the wolf. Its long furry tail flipped over like it was wagging a bit. I tilted my head slightly and decided the wolf was male. I just liked the idea of it being male. I couldn't really tell if it was or not. I pulled my pencil from behind my ear and flipped to a new page in my sketch book. The wolf's deep brown eyes followed my movements as I began to sketch it.

Jacob's POV

I was heading to Bella's when I picked up the boy's fresh scent. Without thinking, I phased and ran after him. I wasn't expecting him to be in that clearing; not at all. But I was happy I didn't scare him. At the moment, he was calm as he drew. His bright green eyes kept glancing up at me so I was guessing he was drawing me. I was flattered at the thought. I watched his pale hand move swiftly over the page. I really wished I knew his name.

I was ready and willing to confront Bella and figure out who this kid was. But it seemed I got a little side tracked... He was just too alluring to ignore. His bright green eyes were hard to look away from. I could feel it. Every time he'd glance up at me, my heart rate would increase. I was starting to get used to it.

Sam was right though. I really wanted to see him human. I wonder if he'll put two and two together. I bet I tower over him in my human form. I felt a strange swell of pride. He's kinda small for a guy... I wonder how old he is. He looks like he'd fit perfectly in my arms... I blinked. Ah... That's a bad thought...

The boy suddenly stopped and put his pencil behind his cute little ear. He smiled at the sketch before turning it around to show me. I lifted my head a bit. Ah. It is me. So that's what I look like... He's good.

"What do you think?" His soft voice made my wolf spine tingle. "Looks just like you." He smiled at me and I felt my tail wag. Yea... I was in deep.

Jade's POV

I placed my sketch book to the side of me and moved up to sit on my knees. "What are you?" I asked the wolf, leaning forward onto my hands. "A giant wolf? Do you have a name?" He lifted his big head a little higher and tilted it at me. I chuckled softly and crawled a little closer to him, moving off of the blanket. I could feel the wetness from the grass start to seep into my jeans as I crawled over to him. "You're a nice wolf." I carefully reached my hand out to it. He didn't move, only watched my face.

I hesitated, slightly scared, before placing my palm to the side of the wolf's face. We were both still a moment before he leaned into my palm. I smiled. He was warm. Really warm. I shivered a bit when a cold wind blew by. My hoodie was only so warm.

The wolf moved to get up and I pulled my hand back. I was worried that I did something wrong as it pulled itself to its feet. He started to move toward me and I bit my bottom lip. I scooted back onto the blanket so I wasn't on the wet ground anymore. He slowly moved to my side and plopped down beside me. He pressed his shoulder to mine and I felt warm. I swallowed hard, feeling brave, and leaned back.

The wolf rested its head on its paws while I snuggled up to his side. It was warm and I felt safe. I ran my fingers through his thick soft fur as I rested my head against his shoulder. I sat there a moment before turning and resting my back against him. I grabbed my sketch book and pulled up one leg to rest the book against. I grabbed my pencil and started drawing once again.

I could tell the sun was moving in the sky and I lost track of time. I felt so safe with the wolf. I knew, deep down, I should have been terrified. But I just wasn't. The wolf calmed me in a way that only my medication usually could...

I jumped when something started to vibrate in my jeans pocket. The wolf raised his head while I pulled my phone from my pocket. I pulled out an earphone and flipped open my phone before placing it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Jade, Darling. Where are you?" Ashley's voice was worried.

"Oh, mom. I'm fine. I'm in the woods."

She was silent a moment. "The woods? What are you doing in the woods?"

"Sketching."

"Oh... Well come home. It'll be dark soon."

I blinked and looked up. The sky was darkening. "Okay. Give me an hour or so."

"Okay. Be careful."

"Will do. Bye."

"Bye."

I hung up and put my phone back in my pocket. I sighed and put my stuff away. The wolf watched me the whole time. "I gotta go." I told him. "It's getting dark..." I got to my feet and put my bag over my shoulder. "I hope I can find my way home in the dark."

The wolf got to his feet and nudged me forward with his big snout. I laughed and started walking. He followed right behind me and it wasn't long before the sky turned darker. I wasn't so confident in where I was going.

The wolf nudged his head against my shoulder and I grabbed onto his neck. He slowly led me to the edge of the woods by my house. I smiled at him when we reached the edge. I pressed my cheek to his neck and nuzzled him.

"Thanks." I pulled away and was caught off guard when he licked my face with his big wet tongue. "Ew~!" I laughed and wiped the slobber off. The wolf let out a deep rumbling sound, like a laugh. He opened his mouth and let his tongue hang out the side, like he was grinning. So I grinned back. "Later tonight, okay?" I leaned forward and nuzzled his cheek with mine. "After midnight. I'll be in the clearing. Be there?" He moved his head in a nodding motion. Could he actually understand me? "Okay. Bye."

I patted his neck before stepping out into the yard. I looked back to find him gone. I sighed and made my way to my house. I came in through the back door and saw the lights in the kitchen on.

"Jade? That you?" Ashley popped her head out of the kitchen. She smiled in relief when she saw me. "Ah. Dinner's almost ready."

"Kay." I walked into the kitchen with her.

"You have mud on your jeans." She raised an eyebrow at me. "What in the world were you sketching in the middle of the woods?" She turned to the pot on the stove.

I reached into my bag and pulled out my sketch book. Ashley stirred the soup while watching me. I flipped open to the sketch of the wolf lying in front of me. I turned it around for her to see.

"Oh wow." She took it from me to get a better look. "Is this the same wolf from your painting?"

"Yea."

"You had to go into the woods to sketch this?" She handed the book back to me.

"Yea." I closed it and hugged it to my chest. "How else am I supposed to see it?"

The big metal spoon that was in her hand clattered to the floor. She turned to me with wide blue eyes. "T-That's real?! Jade!" Her voice turned to panic. "That thing is huge! It could kill you!"

"Jeez! Calm down! I'm kidding!"

She froze before relaxing and narrowing her eyes at me. "That wasn't funny."

"Sorry." I bent down and picked up the spoon. "I went in the woods to get the feel of being a wolf. That's why my jeans are muddy." I patted the mud on my knees.

"Now that makes more sense." She sighed and took the spoon away from me. "Wait... you were crawling on the ground?"

I shrugged. "It wasn't that bad."

Ashley sighed and shook her head. "You are one strange boy... Now go clean up for dinner."

I chuckled softly and nodded. I headed for my room in thought. There was no way I was telling her the truth. Not after that reaction. It's better if she believes it's just my imagination. I froze halfway up the stairs. Is it my imagination? I mean... a wolf like that can't really exist... He's too gentle and... safe... It wouldn't be the first time my mind pulled this trick on me... I shook my head and kept moving. But he feels so real... He needs a name. I wonder what would suit him best...

Wolfie, my new name for the wolf, (yea... I'm uncreative like that) surprised me later that night. Actually, he scared me half to death. He was waiting at the edge of the woods for me. I grabbed his neck and he led me to the clearing. It was chilly and pretty cloudy making it darker than I was used to.

My hoodie was enough if it started to rain. I laid a blanket into the ground again and sat down. Wolfie laid down right beside me. I cuddled up to his side like before and found myself warming up.

"So, I decided," I ran my fingers through his fur. "That you're a figment of my imagination." He lifted his head and stared at me. "You have to be. You're too... much to be real... But don't worry." I nuzzled my cheek against his warm shoulder. "I'll still come see you. Perhaps my medication is really getting to me."

Wolfie grunted and rested his head on his paws so he could still watch me. I scooted up so I was cuddled against his neck. He hummed a bit and moved onto his side. He curled around me and rested his head in my lap. It was so big that it covered my entire lap. I smiled softly and started to pet his head.

"The last time I imagined up something as real as you I was nine." My fingers idly moved through his fur. "It wasn't a wolf though. It was a giant bunny rabbit. His name was Bunnie..." I laughed softly. "I was so uncreative with names. I still am." Wolfie closed his eyes but I could tell he was still listening. "I was so convinced that he was real... He was my best friend. But he could talk. You can't talk... Guess I have grown up a bit since then. I've gotten more realistic.

"Bunnie never left my side... Most kids have imaginary friends but Bunnie... He wasn't like that to me. He was as real as I was. I was made fun of because of it. Teased... picked on... abused..." Wolfie growled slightly. I blinked and looked down at him. His eyes were open but were staring at the ground. "Kids are mean." I scratched him behind the ear and he seemed to calm down.

"Anyway, my parents got worried and made me go see a therapist..." I narrowed my eyes at the memory. "I hated it. The man wouldn't believe a thing a said. He was convinced I was mentally insane or something... over an imaginary friend... I was so passionate about Bunnie though...

"Then he made me take pills. I haven't seen Bunnie since." I swallowed hard, my chest tightening. I forgot how much that whole event had really effected me. "I know now that there was obviously something wrong with me... and I thought I was over that... But then you show up."

I sighed and moved so I my upper body was laying on his. I buried my head into him and took in his scent. It was amazing. I was so warm and out of it that I didn't notice it start to rain. "Please don't disappear too... I couldn't take that..." I mumbled against his fur. Wolfie whined softly and nuzzled his nose against my side. I was almost asleep when Wolfie lifted his head and used his teeth to pull the hood over my head.

I awoke to something cold and wet nuzzling my cheek. I groaned and opened my eyes to sunlight. Sunlight?! I popped my head up and looked around, disoriented. I slept... all night... in the rain... with Wolfie. I rubbed my eyes and a yawn escaped my mouth. Wolfie didn't move, only watched me. I smiled at him and stretched. I wasn't sure what time it was, but I was sure my parents had noticed I was gone.

But for some reason, I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay with Wolfie. But I knew I had to go. I was drenched and it was still raining. Wolfie heaved himself to his feet and I did as well. I cracked my back then Wolfie led me to the edge of the woods.

"First time I slept all through the night." I kissed his big furry cheek. "Thanks." He licked my cheek causing me to giggle. "It's gonna storm tonight... Plus I have school tomorrow... So, on a clear night I'll meet you here?" He nodded. "Bye then!" I grinned at him and made my way to my house.

It was earlier in the morning than I had originally thought and no one had noticed I was gone. I snuck back into the house and quickly went to shower. I was cold without Wolfie. Plus I was soaked and didn't want to get sick.

Wednesday was one of those really sunny days when the Cullens didn't come to school. A sunny day meant I could see Wolfie. So I was happy. So happy, in fact, that I couldn't stop thinking about him all day at school. I hadn't been able to see him since Sunday morning so I was anxious.

"Hey Jade?" Angela poked my arm.

I snapped my head up and blinked at her. "Hm?"

"That's a really cool wolf." She said, pointing at my current sketch.

"Oh. Ha. Thanks."

She grinned at me. "So, are you coming to La Push this weekend?"

"Huh?"

"First Beach." Mike spoke up beside Bella who was poking her food. "We're going there this Saturday. It's a little cold but it's great this time of year for surfing."

"Plus, there's going to be a bomb fire." Angela grabbed my arm. "You'll come right? You have to."

"Uh..." I glanced at Bella. "Are you going?" She just shook her head.

"She's doing something with Edward." Mike told me.

I bit my bottom lip. "I don't know..."

"Oh come on! It'll be fun!" Angela grinned at me.

I sighed. "Alright. No harm in checking it out."

"Yay!" Angela hugged my arm and I could practically feel Ben seething beside her. It wasn't like I was interested in Angela or anything. It would be rude to shove her off. She was pretty but not really my type. So what was wrong with letting her enjoy herself? I liked her as a friend. Sweet girl.

Lunch ended not long after and I walked Bella to her next class. I grabbed her arm before she had the chance to disappeared inside the class room.

"You okay?"

She blinked at me. "Yea..."

"Right." I rolled my green eyes at her. "It'll be really sunny this weekend. Won't the Cullens go camping?" She stared at me. "You should come with us."

"I..."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Come on. Do something without Edward for once."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I sighed. "It means that even though Edward's away you should still have fun. Come on~. I know its La Push and you get all depressed thinking about it but please?" I practically begged her. "It wouldn't be the same without you."

Bella sighed. "I'll think about it, ok?"

I grinned at her. "That is all I ask." I winked at her. "Have fun in Bio."

She smiled. "Have fun in art."

"Always!" I saluted her and hopped off to my art class.

I hummed to myself as I disappeared into the woods. The moon was out and bright. No chance of rain tonight. I was able to see better thanks to the moon so I didn't trip as much as I normally would. Ha, I only fell twice. Which was a big deal for me. I easily made it to the clearing but was disappointed when I didn't see Wolfie.

I pouted lightly and stepped out into the clearing. I about jumped out of my skin when Wolfie suddenly stepped out into the clearing as well. Oh... so he was waiting... I took a deep breath to calm my pounding heart. We walked up to each other and I patted his cheek. "You scared me." I smiled at him. He grunted and moved to what had become our normal spot. I smiled and hopped over to him. He plopped down on the dry ground and I sat down beside him. I leaned back against him and stared up at the moon. He rested his head in my lap like before.

"So, my friends invited me to La Push this weekend. First Beach or something like that. Angela told me it was on the Indian reservation." I ran my fingers through his fur as I watched the half moon. "They're going surfing. I don't know what I'm gonna do... but its better than staying home. I need to be more social anyway. Plus I think I convinced Bella to go with us. She's been real mopey lately. So hopefully this'll cheer her up."

I scooted down so my head was resting back against Wolfie's belly. "I've never actually been to a beach. We've always lived in city type areas or suburban areas. Really warm areas but not really near the beach. I never thought of myself as a beach person anyway. But it's gonna be pretty cold tomorrow. Too cold for swimming anyway. But I guess its okay for surfing. That's what Mike said anyway." I shrugged. "Bella has weird friends... Well, I guess they're my friends too... They were hers first... I can't say much. I'm not Mr. Normal either..." I laughed at myself. "I'm talking to an imaginary wolf for goodness sake..."

I chuckled and shifted to my side, Wolfie's head now resting on my hip. I nuzzled closer to his neck and let the warmth envelop me. "Hm... But atleast you listen..." I smiled and nuzzled against him.

I wasn't able to see Wolfie again by Saturday. I wasn't too happy about it either. It poured Thursday and Friday but then cleared up for Saturday. I was a little annoyed but there was nothing I could do about it anyway. My mood was a little lifted by the time we pulled up to First Beach. I was sure I'd get to go see Wolfie tonight.

I sat on the beach beside Bella and watched the others surf and body board. The group grew after a while and there were atleast a total of ten of us. A few others were off playing football or doing other things. Bella and I weren't really up for anything like that.

"Bella!" Bella and I looked up at her name being called. Three Native American boys were walking toward us from down the beach. The one in the middle was grinning and waving. I looked back at Bella who was staring at him with wide eyes. "I didn't think you'd come back here." The one in the middle, the tallest actually, said as they approached us.

We both moved to our feet and I couldn't help but notice the middle one. All three were insanely tall but this one was... really good looking. His soft warm brown eyes reminded me of Wolfie... Ah that was weird.

"Well, Jade," Bella nudged my ribs, "practically dragged me here."

I snapped out of my daze and smiled in reflex. "Better being here with friends than alone."

"True." The middle one spoke. "Name's Jacob." He held out his big tan hand to me.

I stared at it a second before placing my smaller pale hand in his. Instantly, I felt a spark with the contrast of temperature. "Jade."

He grinned at me. "New?"

"Yea. Moved here from Texas. You know Bella?"

Jacob nodded and finally let go of my hand. His heat remained as I rubbed my hand that he once held. "Since we were little kids." He eyed her before one of the boys behind Jacob nudged him. "Oh! This is Quil and Embry."

I smiled at both of them. Quil waved while Embry just grinned at me. Bella glanced between us before her eyes landed on Jacob. "Jacob, can we talk?"

"Sure." He grinned and followed her away from the rest of us.

I tilted my head as they walked away. Quil and Embry walked up on either side of me, towering over me. "What's the deal with them?" I asked.

"Used to be best friends." Quil answered. "Then Bella got with Edward and it went downhill."

"Jacob like her?"

They both looked at me with their dark colored eyes. "He did... But not anymore. Not like that anyway." Embry told me with a grin while looking me up and down.

"Uh... Okay." Embry's grin was making me feel like I was missing something...

Jacob's POV

I already knew what Bella wanted to talk about but I was on cloud nine. I knew his name! Jade. It suited him. He was even more gorgeous through human eyes. Plus, I was proud of myself. I kept control. I didn't jump the boy. And I was right. I totally towered over him.

"So what's going on Jacob?" Bella stopped far enough away so no one would hear us. "You won't speak to me for almost two months and now you're acting like nothing happened."

I shrugged. "I imprinted."

She blinked in surprise. "I'm sorry... you what?"

"Imprinted. You know what that means."

"Well yea but..." She tilted her head. "On who?"

"Your little friend." My eyes drifted to Jade who was blushing. Blushing? What are Quil and Embry saying to him? Damn he's cute when he blushes...

"Jade?" Bella followed my gaze.

"Yup."

"How?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. Just did. That's how it works, you know."

"I know!" She turned to me, eyes slightly narrowed. "But he's a guy."

I faked surprised. "Really?"

"Yes!" She rolled her eyes. "He doesn't look that much like a girl."

"I know he's a boy." I grinned at her.

She grumbled. "When did you meet him?"

"Last weekend. We kinda ran into each other."

"You were wolf..."

"Yup. He likes me wolf. Now I gotta get him to like me human."

Bella placed a hand on her hip. "And how are you going to do that?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Charm."

"Right."

I chuckled. "Sam thinks it's best to come clean with him as soon as possible."

"Is that wise?"

I shrugged, my eyes never leaving Jade. "Best option. He loves me as a wolf. He'll need to know the truth eventually."

"But... Jade's a guy."

I hummed. "Yea, I don't get it either. But I've imprinted alright."

"Jacob Black... Gay?" Bella raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."

"Yea... the guys are getting a kick out of this..."

"I bet..." I shifted my eyes back to hers. "So... Does this mean...?"

"We're friends? Yea. I could care less about that bloo- I mean Edward."

She smiled genuinely at me. "Good. I've missed you."

"Same. Now let's get back. I wanna talk to him some more."

Jade's POV

The bomb fire was huge. More people from the reservation came down and our group grew to almost thirty. I sat on a log between Bella and Jacob. I wasn't sure what past they had but they seemed fine now. Embry and Quil, who I was starting to like, were sitting on the ground in front of us.

"So, how old are you Jade?" Jacob asked, shifting to face me.

"17, you?" I turned slightly to him.

"Ah... a little younger."

"A little?" Embry turned around to us. "Two years isn't a little."

Two years?! He's 15?! Seriously??? I glanced between the two.

"You're the same age Embry." Quil said with a smile. Embry just rolled his eyes and turned back around. Quil laughed and nudged Embry's arm playfully. I laughed softly catching Jacob's attention.

"Don't mind them. They're immature for their age." Jacob pressed his foot into Embry's back. Embry smacked his foot away.

"Ah. I didn't expect you guys to be... younger than me."

Jacob grinned at me. "We're tall for our age."

"I'll say." I looked him over. He grinned at me and I felt my heart flutter. Jacob really was handsome. His eyes... I could drown in them... Gah. That sounded so cliché.

"So, you go to school with Bella?" Jacob asked me, his eyes on the fire.

"Yup. Do you too? I've never seen you there..."

"Oh. No. I go to school on the res."

I blinked at him. "Oh. Sophomore?"

"Pretty much." He shifted his brown eyes to mine. "Age doesn't bother you, does it?"

Again I blinked. "Um..." I swallowed hard when my heart rate increased. "Not really. I mean... more or less than five is too much. But other than that it's alright."

Jacob smiled at me and I felt my heart skip a beat. "Oh. Great. Um, how long have you been here?"

"Almost a month."

"You're from Austin, right? Why did you move here?"

"Well," I leaned back and looked up at the sky. "I was actually born in Maryland. I've moved around a lot. My parents don't like living in one place for too long."

"Oh. You usually live in small towns?"

I shrugged. "Not really. My parents are more city people. New York, L.A., Seattle, Austin..."

"Must be hard... moving all the time."

"It was... But I got used to it."

"Mm... You like it here?"

"I'm starting to." I smiled at him.

Jacob blinked but then returned my smile. "That's good. How'd you become friends with Bella?" He glanced at Bella who was talking to Angela. "It's hard to get past Edward."

"Well, I live across the street from her." I shrugged. "So we became friends."

"Are you friends with Edward too?"

"I guess so... But I'd say I'm better friends with Jasper. Never spoken to him but... I don't know."

"Ah. Haven't met Jasper."

"He's... quiet." I let out a laugh. "Doesn't really talk." I scooted closer to him when a cool wind blew. "You've lived here you're whole life?" He nodded and scooted closer to me. "What do you do for fun?"

He thought it over for a moment. "Usually, I work on cars in my garage."

"Mechanic?" I blinked.

"Yea. I love working on cars. Building them from scratch." His face lit up as he continued to tell me more about it. I listened intently, loving the look of pleasure on his face. "Oh, but, I must be boring you..."

"What?" I blinked. "No, it's fascinating! You seem really happy when you talk about it." I smiled when his eyes met mine once again. "I just don't know anything about it."

"Oh. Well what do you do for fun?"

"I paint, draw, sketch... Things like that."

"Artist?"

"Pretty-"

"Jade~!"

I squeaked when I was suddenly tackled backwards off the log. I felt sand beneath my back and a warm body above me.

"Embry! Off!"

The warm body was suddenly pulled off me. I blinked in surprise and sat up on my elbows. Jacob was glaring at Embry who was laughing at him.

"Sorry." Embry grinned at me. He reached his hand out to help me. "I didn't mean to knock you over." I reached for his hand but two strong arms wrapped around my waist and lifted me effortlessly to my feet.

"You're not hurt are you?" Jacob asked while brushing the sand off my back.

"No. I'm fine. He just-EP!" I jumped away when Jacob started to brush the sand off my bum.

"Ah! Sorry!" Jacob rubbed the back of his neck, blushing softly.

"It's ok." I brushed the sand off my bum. "You surprised me is all." I shifted me eyes to Embry who was obviously trying not to laugh. "You too."

He held his hands up in defense. "Sorry." He was grinning sheepishly.

"Sure." I rolled my eyes at him. Embry waved at me and hopped over to Quil who was on the other side of the bomb fire.

"Embry's like that. He's pretty random." Jacob told me.

"No biggie." I sat back down on the long. Bella was staring at me but I was too focused on Jacob who was sitting back down next to me. "I'm unharmed."

Jacob smiled at me. "Oh." He reached out to brush a strand of my hair back behind my ear. "I'm guessing this isn't your normal color." He retracted his hand, his eyes focused on my hair.

"Nope. I'm blonde actually."

He blinked. "Blonde? Seriously?"

"Yup. I'm clumsy like one too."

He let out a laugh. "I see." He was so close that we were almost touching. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and stared into the fire. "20 questions?"

I blinked. "Okay. You go first." I pulled my jacket more over me and unconsciously pressed my shoulder to Jacob's warm one.

"What's your favorite color?"

I thought for a moment. "Reddish-brown."

He blinked at me. "That's... different."

I just shrugged. "My favorite color changes with my mood. Right now it's Reddish brown. Yours?"

Jacob's brown eyes shifted to mine and searched them for a moment before turning back to the blazing fire. "Green. Deep pure green."

"Oh..." I felt embarrassed for some reason. "Um... What kind of music do you listen to?"

"Hm... I'm not too picky... Nothing too out there. I guess something along the lines of rock."

"Hm. Me too."

"Favorite Band?"

"The Spill Canvas."

He smiled and lifted his head, turning to look at me. "I know them. They're really good."

I returned his smile. "Yours?"

"Ah... um... The Black Ghosts."

"Oh!" I grinned and he titled his head a bit. "I love them! They use cool instruments."

Jacob nodded and grinned. "Yea."

We continued our game and I was starting to feel really comfortable with Jacob. He was really easy to talk to. He seemed pretty easy going and knew how to keep my attention. We learned a lot about each other. But just typical things that people learn when they first meet someone. I was sure I was blushing the whole time, but it was cold so I was sure the cold was a good cover for flushed cheeks.

"Wanna go for a walk?"

I blinked and noticed how close Jacob and I had gotten. Our legs were pressing together and our shoulders were touching. "Uh... Sure. Down the beach?"

Jacob grinned that grin that would make my heart flutter. "Yea." He got to his feet and held out his hand to me.

I smiled and glanced at Bella but she was engrossed in a conversation with Angela. I grabbed Jacob's warm hand and he lifted me to my feet. He glanced back at one of the Indian boys that I didn't know before leading me away. I stuffed my hands in my hoodie's kangaroo pocket and followed beside him.

Once we were far enough away, walking along the shoreline, I decided to finally ask the question that had been bugging me all night. "So... What's really with you and Bella?" Jacob tilted his head at me. "Embry told me... you used to like her." I shifted my eyes to the sand.

"Ah... Yea. I did." He rubbed the back of his neck. "We're just good friends now since she's in love with Edward."

"Yea... I noticed." I raised my eyes to look at the almost full moon. A few clouds were in the sky but it was pretty clear. "They're inseparable unless it's a sunny day."

Jacob laughed causing me to look up at him. "Yea. Sunny days." Again, I felt like I was missing something. Jacob just grinned at my stare. He sure was a happy person.

"Well, you and Bella seem kinda tense. I mean, you have been talking to me all night."

Jacob smirked, looking at me from the corner of his eyes. "Complaining?"

I felt the heat rush to my face once again. "No..." I shifted my eyes to the sand. "I was just curious." I mumbled.

He smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me to his warm side. His warmth filled me and my heart started to pound in my ears. "Curiosity is good." He squeezed my shoulder with his big tan hand.

I smiled and walked beside him. My mind was spinning. Jacob was defiantly flirting. Right? He had been all night. Or maybe I'm just bad at reading people... I'm a guy... He's a guy... He doesn't seem like the type to go that way... Hell! I don't even know if I do! I've never really thought about my sexuality... Never had a girlfriend... or anything like that... Either way, I wasn't sure. So I figured I'd let him led and see where it went.

"So, you said you paint." Jacob's deep voice snapped me out of it. "What do you paint?"

"Usually things I make up in my head." I raised my eyes to the moon. "More recently... Well, ever since we moved to Forks, I've been painting wolves and the moon."

"Wolves? The moon? Why?"

I shrugged and played with the black string of my hoodie. "It's really pretty out here... Back in Austin, I couldn't really see the moon... And I just love the nature... Wolves have always been my favorite animal... The moon and wolves just kinda go together, you know?"

Jacob gently grabbed my hand that was playing with the string. His heat sent a spark through my cold pale hand. I stopped fidgeting and looked up at him. His brown eyes smiled down at me.

"You always do that?"

"Only when I'm nervous."

"Why are you nervous?"

"I... get that way when I talk about my art."

He ran his warm fingers over my hand. "Your hand's really cold."

"Yours is really warm..."

He smiled and took both of my hands in one of his. "Better?" He asked, rubbing his palm over mine.

I nodded. "T-Thanks."

Jacob grinned at me and it was then that I noticed we had stopped walking. He rubbed my hands with his one since his arm was still around my shoulders. I was debating whether all of that was casual or not. Do friends usually do this? I wasn't sure. I never really had close friends... Well, close enough to touch.

"Can I ask you something?" I looked at him shyly.

The confidence in his smile faltered a bit but he picked it up quickly. "Anything."

"You... Um... Well..." I bit my bottom lip, not sure how to ask. He watched me, patiently, his warm hand still warming mine. "I'm not sure how to put this..."

"Just say what you're thinking."

"Uh... okay." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Why... No..." I shook my head. The more I stumbled over my words the bigger Jacob's smile became.

"What are you trying to ask?" He had humor in his voice.

"I just wanna know... To put it bluntly.... Why are you so interested in me?"

Jacob blinked before raising an eyebrow. "Should I not be?"

"Well, no. I mean... You're kinda touchy feely with me." I glanced at our hands causing him to immediately let go. I felt the strong urge to pout.

"Does that bother you?" He looked sincerely concerned.

My eyes widened and I held up my hands. "Oh! No! I like it actually..."

His smirk returned. "I like it too." He gathered my hands in his once again.

"What I meant was... um... I'm not really the kind of person that draws others in. So what draws you to me?"

"You're different."

Like that explains everything... "Okay." I smiled up at him, accepting his answer. My breath hitched when I realized how close his face was to mine. His eyes glistened in the moonlight and his short, slightly spiky hair blew in the slight wind. He was bent down a bit, more to my level.

I could feel it. Something radiating off him and drawing me in. I wasn't sure what it was but my mind shut down. Jacob's face inched closer to mine and I was damn sure he was going to kiss me. My heart sped up, my body went warm, and I was only focused on Jacob. The world around me disappeared. His eyes glanced at my lips and I knew.

"Jade!" The voice startled both of us. I snapped out of it and pulled away from Jacob to turn around. Angela and Ben were running toward us. "We're leaving! You ready to go?" She asked, stepping in front of us.

"Uh yea."

"Great!" Angela grinned. "Come on!" She turned back around and started walking back with Ben. I noticed then that we weren't that far from the now drying bomb fire. It hit me then. I almost kissed a guy I had just met... wow...

Along with Jacob, I walked back to the bomb fire. Embry and Quill were waiting for Jacob when we came back. They were looking at him knowingly and I couldn't help but blush.

Jacob's POV

I watched the suburban as it pulled away. My heart started to ache as soon as Jade was out of my sight. So this is what it feels like. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"He's really cute." Quil said, next to me.

Without warning, a growl escaped my throat. "Whoa. Chill man." Embry leaned his arm on my shoulder. "We're just saying he's better looking than we thought. Kinda shy but you sure got him talking."

I grinned at them. "Duh. Jacob Black Charm."

"Right. So when are you going to tell him?"

That messed with my confidence. "What?"

"The longer you wait the more pain. We have to be with our mates as much as possible." Embry shrugged.

"Right... Soon."

They shrugged and left me. I stared at the ocean in thought. I was so close kissing him. I can't move that fast. It could scare him away. I have no idea if he's even into me like that. I've met and interacted with him human. Mission accomplished.

He likes me human too. I'm sure of that. But still... I'd never felt so self conscious in my entire life. He's so much more beautiful through human eyes... To see him react to me... blush because of me... I can't believe I didn't jump him right then... This imprinting thing was causing my hormones to go haywire. Just his scent could send me into frenzy. He was special... No doubt about that.

A clear night. I wonder if he would come meet me... I thought it over for a bit before disappearing into the forest and phasing. I didn't worry about my clothes. I just ran. If there was the tiniest chance he'd be there... then I'd be there too.

The closer I got toward his home the more his scent filled my senses. I ran to the edge of the woods beside his house and waited. I could see the lights on in his house. I beat the suburban. It pulled up to Bella's and she and Jade got out. They said their goodbyes and both went to their homes. Jade glanced over at the woods before going inside his house.

I sat down because I knew it'd be a little while before he came out. It was only about ten. He liked to come to the woods in the middle of the night.

You telling him, Jake?

I blinked at Seth's voice. You know?

Got it out of Embry. Plus, you're not really hiding it that well. Seth was pretty far away, still on the reservation.

Everyone else know?

Yea. I'm happy for you Jake.

Yea... Thanks. Where are the others?

Emily's. I'm patrolling tonight.

Oh.

So? Are you?

I haven't figured it out yet. You think I should?

You're asking me? He sounded a little shocked. Couldn't blame him.

Uh... Yes.

Hm... If I was you... I'd tell him as soon as possible. So he knew what he was getting into.

What if he doesn't feel that way?

He has to. Neither Seth nor I realized Sam had phased. The point in imprinting is that the person you happen to imprint on will love you back. Soul mate, basically. It just might take him some time to get used to the idea.

I lifted my head when the back door to Jade's house slammed shut. Sam, what do you think?

As soon as possible. Bring him to Emily's if you want.

I'll think about it. I stood as I saw Jade walking toward the woods.

Let us know. Seth, I'll take over.

Okay! Good luck Jake! Seth phased back.

Do what you feel is best. I'll keep my thoughts to myself from now on.

Thanks.

Jade shifted his bag over his shoulder as he walked over. He brought his sketch book. His face lit up when he noticed me.

"Wolfie!" He grinned and stumbled over to me. I blinked at him. Wolfie? Ha. So that's what he's calling me. "I wasn't sure if you'd be here or not." He grabbed my neck and kissed my fury cheek. "I'm so happy and I thought you'd disappear because of it." He... still thinks I'm part of his imagination... "But I'm glad you're here! I need to talk to someone!"

I turned and started heading back to the clearing. He followed beside me, gripping the fur on my neck. I glanced at him but his eyes were locked on the ground. He didn't want to trip. I wondered what he needed to talk about when we entered the clearing.

Jade grinned, his green eyes glowing in the moon light. He let go of me and walked into the clearing. I followed him before lying down on the ground. He sat down beside me and leaned his back against my shoulder.

"So. I met this guy." I rested my head on my paws as he spoke. My head was turned so I could see him. "His name's Jacob." He blushed and pulled out his sketch book. "I went to La Push with some friends." He pulled out his pencil and started to draw. "He lives on the reservation... Native American boy." He smiled softly. "He was really nice to me. He and my friend Bella have some weird past..."

Ha! You're telling me...

"At one point..." He paused in his drawing. "I was 99.9% sure he was going to kiss me!" He placed his book on the ground and turned to look at me. "Now don't get me wrong... Jacob's really attractive." Confidence boost! "But I just..." He sighed and ran a hand through his black and red hair.

You just? What?! Tell me!

Jade moved to his knees and crawled closer to my head. I lifted it, curious. "I've never been with anyone. Male or female. I've never even considered my sexuality..." He reached out and petted the top of my head. "You're lucky Wolfie... You don't have to worry about stuff like this."

Like Hell I don't... I rolled my eyes at him.

Jade blinked before chuckled softly. "I guess gender doesn't really matter. It's the person, right?" He moved his hand to my snout and I licked his hand. "I wish you could really talk back..." He pouted and I almost lost it. "But you're a good listener."

He smiled and moved so he was resting against my neck. He dug his fingers into my fur and massaged the skin with his finger tips. "It doesn't matter anyway... me and Jacob..."

What? Why not? I lifted my head higher and stared at him.

Jade's eyes were locked on my fur. "This time next year we'll be in a new place..." No... I felt my heart clench tightly. "Every year... That's why I've never been with anyone... What's the point?" I could practically feel my heart breaking. He was giving up without giving me a real chance. "I wonder if I'll see him again..."

I think we both spaced out at that point. I was trying not to think about how I could possibly live without him. Well... I couldn't. He had to know the truth. I had to show him. I moved to stand but realized he was fast asleep against my neck. I let out a sigh and moved so I was wrapped around him. His sketch book was open and I could tell it was me. Human me.

Jade had to know the truth. But how would I tell him? Main problem was... He still thought I was just part of his imagination...

Jade's POV

I cursed to myself quietly as I started up my car. I was going to be late if I didn't hurry. The night before, I fell asleep on Wolfie again. When I woke up, it was already seven. I rushed home and didn't even get to shower. I figured I needed one after spending the night in the woods. But I didn't have time.

I stumbled into English about three seconds before the bell rang. Jasper stiffened when I sat down next to him. I blinked and titled my head at him. He just stared at me with slightly wide eyes before shifting his eyes to Mrs. Redman. Ah... He always looks like a corpse anyway...

Jasper seemed to avoid me the rest of the day. We never really talked anyway but still. Even at lunch. He sat at a different table than normal with Alice, Edward, and Bella. I debated going over there but decided not to and sat at my normal table. They didn't seem to care either way and that bothered me the most. Angela and Ben sat down across from me though and Mike sat beside me.

"The Cullens not sitting with us?" Mike asked, glancing at them.

I shook my head. "I guess not."

"Why?" Angela asked while unwrapping her sandwich.

"I... Don't know."

"Oh well." She shrugged and bit into her sandwich. Ben smiled at her and started to eat his lunch as well.

Mike nudged my arm. "You alright? You look like you've been hit by a truck."

I bit my lower lip while getting out my sketch book. "Jasper's been avoiding me all day... I don't know what I did."

"Don't worry about it man. The Cullens are like that. Bella though..." He shrugged. "She keeps looking at you like you murdered someone."

"Maybe it has to do with Jacob." Angela said. "He spent all Saturday talking to you. Maybe she's jealous."

"Bella's not like that." Mike said.

"You never know."

I sighed and glanced over at their table. Sure enough Bella was glaring at me. I swallowed hard and shifted my eyes to my newest sketch. Wolfie of course. I felt my stomach drop to my feet. Bella hated me now. I lost four friends for a reason I didn't even know. I was hurt but most of all I was pissed. I deserved to know why but I was too afraid to confront Bella. Edward would step in. And I doubted Jasper or Alice would tell me anything.

"Hey, that's really cool." Angela pointed to my sketch.

"Thanks."

Edward's POV

Jade's thoughts were filling my head more than any one else's. Perhaps because he was thinking them toward us anyway. I wasn't sure why Bella suddenly disliked Jade but I didn't fight her on it. The wolf smell on him today was overwhelming. Usually it was pretty faint. But today it was stronger than ever. Jasper was defiantly surprised. I didn't realize Jade was that close with Jacob now. I winced slightly at the pain in his thoughts. He was sure this was about Jacob and I was staring to agree with him.

"Bella." I spoke to her.

She turned from glaring at Jade to look at me. "Hm?"

"This is about Jacob."

She was momentarily surprised. "He doesn't deserve him."

"Who doesn't deserve who?"

"Jade. Jacob's too good for him."

I raised an eyebrow at her, completely lost. "Mind explaining?"

Bella sighed and turned to face me more. "Jacob imprinted on Jade."

That threw me off. "Is that possible?"

"Apparently..." She grumbled.

"And your worry is?"

"Jade's not gay. Jacob wasn't either. You should have seen him though! He was fawning over Jade."

"Bella, Darling, you sound jealous."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "I am not."

"He's in pain. He can't understand what he did wrong. Technically, he did nothing wrong Bella."

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "He flirted back."

"He was confused." She just rolled her eyes. "Bella. He's upset. He thinks we hate him."

"It's best this way. Once he gets involved with Jacob, he'll learn about you." She shrugged. "Best to do it now."

"He's not even sure how he feels about Jacob."

"He'll end up with Jacob. That's how it works."

Jasper suddenly got up. Bella, Alice and I looked up at him surprised. He turned and started walking away. Alice jumped up and danced after him. I smiled while Bella looked between us confused. Jasper wasn't going to let a wolf get between him and possibly his first real human friend. With Jade smelling like a wolf, Jasper's blood lust was better kept controlled anyway.

Jade's POV

I was scratching in Wolfie's fur angrily when I felt a sudden soothing calm. I blinked at my sketch surprised and looked up. Angela and Ben were staring next to me. Mike as well. I titled my head before turning to my side. I sat up straight in surprise. Jasper was right beside me with Alice on his other side. I blinked and glanced at Bella. She looked as surprised as I felt.

"Wow Jade." Alice leaned over Jasper and rested her head in her hand. "You can draw really life-like wolves." Her golden eyes were on my sketch book.

"Oh. Um. Thanks." I smiled at her.

She returned the smile. "You're favorite animal?"

"Yea. I find them elegant and beautiful."

She nodded. "They are." We grinned at each other and she leaned back.

"Jade."

I blinked at the voice I had never heard before. I raised my eyes and met Jasper's golden eyes. "Yes?"

"You should turn in a painting of that wolf in Art. Mrs. Valen would love it." Jasper's voice was soft as he spoke.

I smiled at him. That was the most I think Jasper had ever said to me. "I was thinking about it."

Jasper smiled softly at me. "You should."

"I will. Thanks." Talk about a confidence booster. I guess Jasper doesn't hate me. I felt my stomach come back. Bella can hate me all she wants. I still have Jasper and Alice. I was sure Alice was Bella's best friend... But I guessed Alice would always follow Jasper. Either way, I was happy.

I never hated the rain before. I loved it. But rain meant I couldn't go see Wolfie and I didn't like that. The weather man was saying rain all week but I was hoping he was wrong. Back when I could still see Bunnie, it didn't matter what the weather was like. He would show up in the middle of my room, his head almost touching the ceiling since he was a giant bunny. But with Wolfie it was different. I could only see him outside, where other people weren't around. I guessed that was a good thing. People wouldn't find me crazy if they couldn't see me talking to an imaginary wolf.

Anthony wasn't home when I got home from school. That seemed to be a common occurrence lately. When ever I asked Ashley about it she'd say he was working late. But I didn't believe her. I didn't press the issue either.

"Mom?" I called when I entered the house.

"In here!" She called from the kitchen.

I removed my shoes and walked into the kitchen. She was baking... This is bad... "Hey."

"Hey!" Ashley smiled at me while mixing some batter.

"Uh... Why are you baking?" I looked around the kitchen. Cakes and cookies were everywhere. This is really bad...

"Your father is gone." Her smile vanished and she shifted her eyes to the batter.

"W-What?"

"He left. For good."

My body froze. She beat the batter before throwing the wooden spoon into the sink. Then she broke down. I ran over to her without thinking and wrapped my arms around her, holding her tightly. I knew this day would come. They had been having problems for a while. Deep down, my mom hated moving so much. I wondered what set it off this time...

I got her to calm down and sat her on the couch. I gave her a tissue and she tried to dry her blue eyes. "Mom... What happened?"

"He hates it here. He wanted to move again..." She sniffed. "I couldn't. We just got here only a month ago. And you love it here." She raised her hand and cupped my cheek. "I want to stay here. I know you do too... So he left on his own."

I bit my lip and placed my hand over her. "He'll come back. Give him time to cool down." I assured her. "He will."

She nodded before standing. "Help me bake?"

"Sure." I got up and followed her to the kitchen.

I was sure Anthony would come back in a few days but by Friday there was no sign of him. My mom got a job at the Bakery. The house was already paid for and the Bakery was enough money for anything else we'd need. Things weren't looking so well.

I wasn't able to go see Wolfie because I didn't want to leave my mom alone. But by Friday, she was practically pushing me out the door. She wanted me to get out and have some fun. It was a clear night so I went to the woods.

I wasn't sure if Wolfie would show up or not. The past three days were clear and I didn't meet him. He might have given up on me. I hoped not. I really counted on him. He was my listener and I needed to vent. Wolfie wasn't at the edge of the woods so I kept walking to the clearing. It was easy enough to find on my own. Only fell once. The moon was bright and lit up the clearing. My breath hitched when I saw Wolfie sitting in the middle of the clearing.

Wolfie turned his big head to me when I entered the clearing. His brown eyes lit up and his tail wagged. He jumped up and trotted over to me. He bent down to my level and nuzzled my cheek.

"I missed you too." I grabbed his cheeks and nuzzled my nose against his cold wet one. "Sorry. Something happened at home." He leaned down and nuzzled my hand. I blinked and held up my right hand. It was wrapped in an ace bandage. "Oh. Not this... I twisted my wrist in Gym yesterday playing tennis." He rolled his eyes and I laughed. "I know! I told them not to let me play... It's my drawing hand... So it really sucks."

He whined softly and walked halfway around me. He nudged my back with his head and I stumbled into his side. "What?" I looked at him confused. He put his head under my bum and pushed upwards. I squeaked when my feet lifted off the ground. The noise startled him and he dropped me to my feet.

"What is it?" He laid down on his stomach and motioned to his back with his head. "You want me... to get on?" I motioned to his back and he nodded. "Seriously?" He whined again. "Why? You going to take me somewhere?" He nodded again. I debated for a moment before carefully climbing onto his back. I gripped his neck tightly with my good hand as he stood. Damn... this is really high... I opened my mouth to speak but he turned around and took off running.

I didn't have time to react. The wind whipped by and it was all I could hear. I closed my eyes tightly and gripped Wolfie's neck tighter, leaning down so my face was buried into his fur. I could practically feel the trees flying by at the speed he was going. My blood rushed through my veins making my heart pound. I couldn't tell if it was fear or adrenaline. Either way, it was new to me.

This can't be... my imagination... it's too real... it's all too real...

After a little while I could feel him slow down. Soon he was just walking. I opened my eyes and sat up on his back a bit. I looked around to see we were still in the woods. My breath hitched at the sight beside us. A black wolf, a little bigger than Wolfie, was walking beside us. It glanced at me, acknowledging me. What have I gotten myself into? This is real? Wolfie is real??? There's more than one?! A rush of fear went through my body. I swallowed hard, trying to calm down. I trusted Wolfie but I was curious as to what was going on.

They were moving through the woods at a nice pace so I raised my eyes to the sky. It was so clear and full of stars. The half moon was shining. A sense of calm rushed over my body. Wolfie wouldn't hurt me. In fact, I felt really safe with him. He almost made me forget about my father. Almost.

Too much had happened in the last month and a half. We moved to a small town. I made some good friends but now I've lost two of them. I met Wolfie who I thought was a creation of my demented mind but turned out to be real. I think. I'm crushing on a guy I only met once. I'm confused about my sexuality. My dad left. My mom turned to drinking her pain. And I stopped taking my medication. It just made everything worse.

I blinked when we exited the woods. A nice sized two story house was sitting in a clearing surrounded by trees. A few people were on the porch when we walked up. The black wolf trotted off and disappeared behind the house.

"Jade!" Someone on the porch called my name and ran down the steps toward me. I was immensely surprised to see Embry running toward me.

"E-Embry?" I let go of Wolfie's fur and stared at him with wide eyes.

He grinned up at me. "Hey you!" He reached his arms up for me. "I'll help you down."

I blinked but leaned down to him. He grabbed my waist and lifted me off of Wolfie. He placed me on my feet and I stumbled a bit but Embry steadied me. "Thanks."

He smiled at me. "Welcome." He looked Wolfie and I did as well. "Go change." He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I'll take good care of Jade." Wolfie growled and bared his teeth at Embry. Something I had never seen him do before. But Embry just laughed and let go of me. "Alright. Alright." He held his hands up in defense. "Go change."

Wolfie huffed and turned around, trotting back into the woods. I looked from the woods to Embry. "Uh... Is that normal?"

Embry smiled at me. "What? Him? Oh yea."

"Embry, you forgot to give him his clothes." Quil stepped up beside Embry, clothes in his arms.

Embry just grinned. "No I didn't."

Quil rolled his eyes. "Embry, you're so immature."

He just laughed. "Payback."

"Embry!" A voice in the woods yelled, causing Embry to bust into laughter. "You idiot! You did this on purpose!"

Quil sighed and walked to the woods. I watched him and almost fell over when I saw Jacob hiding in the bushes. Quil walked over to him and handed him the clothes. Jacob thanked him and disappeared into the woods. Quil came back over with a smile on his face.

"So, it's about time he brings you over." Embry said to me.

"Who?" I tilted my head at him.

Quil walked up to us. "Jacob."

I blinked. "Do what?"

They glanced at each other. "He... hasn't told you yet, has he?"

I narrowed my eyes, slightly agitated. "Told me what?"

"Ah... It's best if he tells you."

I was beyond confused. "You... How do you know Wolfie?"

They blinked. "Wolfie?"

"You... call him Wolfie?" Embry busted into laughter. Quil couldn't help but smile.

"What is going on?" I glanced between them.

"Shut up Embry." Jacob walked out of the woods with only pants on. No top. I swallowed hard at the sight. "I happen to like it."

"It's cute." Quil told him.

Jacob rolled his brown eyes and walked up beside me. "Right." He glared at a still laughing Embry. "Shut it." Embry tried to hold in his laughter. He held his stomach but was still grinning. Quil smiled at both of them. Jacob wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I was still totally lost.

"Um..." They all looked at me. "What is going on? Where'd Wolfie go?"

They blinked. "He's beside you." Quil nodded at Jacob.

My blood went cold. I looked up at Jacob and his warm brown eyes were smiling at me. Wolfie... Is Jacob? "H-How?"

Jacob watched me, worried. "You're getting paler." His brow furrowed and he cupped my cheek. "Jade, you okay?" I shook my head, not able to speak. He looked worried but my mind wasn't cooperating. "Jade. I'm sorry."

"He doesn't look good." Quil or maybe it was Embry, said.

"Jade." Jacob grabbed my shoulders and shook me a bit, looking me in the eyes. "Stay with me." I opened my mouth but nothing came out. "It's okay, Jade. I won't hurt you. I never did as a wolf. I never will."

My body just wouldn't move. Was I in shock? I wasn't sure. "Y-Y-You..." Jacob searched my eyes, worried. "Y-You're..." My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my head. "You're Wolfie?"

Jacob bit his lip but nodded. "Yes."

Everything went black.

Jacob's POV

Jade's eyes slide shut and he went limp. I caught him before he fell and gathered him up in my arms. That wasn't good. "He fainted." I held him up bridal style, his head resting against my bare chest.

"Better reaction than I thought." Quil came over and looked Jade over. "He didn't run away screaming."

"Not yet..." I mumbled.

"Come on. Let's get him inside." Embry and Quil moved toward the house. I followed after them carefully. Embry held the door open for me and I walked inside.

"Oh my! What happened?" Emily ran to me, looking Jade over.

"He fainted." Embry said, plopping down on the couch next to Seth.

"Poor thing. You told him?"

"Yea..."

"Here, lay him on the couch." I followed Emily to the empty couch. I carefully laid Jade down on it. He didn't make any noise or movement and that concerned me. Emily patted my shoulder. "He'll be fine."

I nodded at her and sat on the floor beside Jade. She smiled at me before wondering into the kitchen. Quil sat down on the other side of Seth and all three watched me. I was on my knees, my arms folded and resting on the couch beside Jade. I just watched his face for any sign.

Maybe telling him like that was a bad idea. It was really sudden. I should have slowly told him... But that was the only way to really get it through. I hope he doesn't wake up and run away screaming. That would be really bad. He said something bad happened at him... Maybe I should have waited till that blew over...

I grabbed his right wrapped hand and held it between mine. It was cold. He hurt it during gym? So he's a klutz like Bella? Go figure... I had seen him trip over his own feet in the woods before.

"He's prettier in person." Seth spoke up.

A possessive growl escaped my lips before I could stop it. Seth only smiled at me. "He should be awake by now."

"Stop worrying." Embry threw his arm over the back of the couch.

"It was a lot for him to take in." Sam said, walking out of the kitchen with Emily behind him. "He'll come around soon. Be patient."

I grumbled but didn't say anything else. I knew Sam was right. So I tried to be patient. But it was harder than I expected.

Jade's POV

The first thing I heard when I came around was Embry's voice. Atleast it sounded like his voice. It was a little unclear, so I wasn't sure what he was saying. Then I was about to sense my surroundings. I was laying down on something soft. I was warm and a very warm hand was clutching my injured hand tightly.

"So, you're telling me that it's genetic to imprint on a male?" Embry. He sounded confused.

"According to legend, it was necessary. Women could be weak and easily damaged while a man could stand strong." I didn't know that voice.

"What about reproducing?" Quil. "Jacob carried the alpha gene."

"So do I. I suppose that's why Jacob imprinted on a male. I can carry on the alpha gene. He doesn't need to."

"Do you believe this imprint is more about love and compatibility than anything?" A woman?

"Possibly."

My mind was spinning. My head and heart were pounding. I tried to think straight. What was imprinting? Jacob imprinted on me? What did that mean? Wolfie.... Jacob... One and the same.

My eyes snapped open and I sat up with a gasp. The room was quiet but I only saw Jacob. His brown eyes were pleading with mine. I felt his hand on mine. My body was shaking but it wasn't from fear. I was beyond confused.

I tore my eyes away from Jacob's and looked around the room. Quil and Embry were sitting on either side of a younger boy. An older man and woman were standing by a doorway. All were staring at me, waiting for something. My eyes met Jacob's once again and I felt suddenly relaxed.

"Explain." I breathed out to him.

Jacob nodded and gripped my hand a little tighter. "My tribe are descendants of Wolves. When we reach a certain age this change happens. We're werewolves to put it simply. I didn't used to believe the stories my father told me but now I know they're true. We only became these creatures because there are enemies around. We need to protect our land and being wolves is the best way."

He gave me a moment to take that in. I nodded. "And what do I have to do with all this?"

"That night a few weeks ago... I was surprised to see you. I had no idea who you were but I was hooked. See, we do this thing called Imprinting. Basically, it's out hearts, souls, and minds choosing our mate for us instantly."

"M-Mate?" My eyes widened.

Jacob nodded. "It's like love at first sight. It's kind of hard to explain."

"Okay..." I sighed. "Let me get this straight." I ran my free hand through my hair. "You're a werewolf. You've imprinted on me. IE- You are in love with me. But I've only met you human once..." I blinked. "You knew then!" I pointed my finger at him, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't ready to. I needed to know you'd like me human as much as you did wolf." His eyes searched mine.

Okay. That made sense. I sighed and lowered my hand. "So... You imprinting on me... What does this mean?"

"It's your choice if you want to be with me or not. I am in love with you and I won't hesitate to show you how much if you allowed me to. Wolves are very affectionate creatures."

He's so serious... "...And... If I say no? If I want nothing to do with this?"

He winced. "T-Then I would live. Whatever made you happy."

I bit my tongue and looked him over. "Can I... think about it?"

"Of course."

"Then it's a maybe. I mean... We'd be... dating right?"

"It's more than that Jade. If you agree to this... We'd be mates for life."

"F-For life?" I about chocked on my own spit.

"Jeez Jacob." Embry said. "It's like you're asking him to marry you. He can only take so much."

Jacob glanced at him. "It's best he knows exactly what he's getting himself into."

"Jacob's right." The older man said.

"But still. It's a big decision to put on the poor boy." Embry insisted. "Can't you do a 'get to know each other' thing? I mean, Jacob he knows you better as a wolf. He needs to know you as a person."

"I-"

"That's it!" My exclamation startled everyone. I grinned. "You and Bella stopped being friends cause she's in love with Edward who happens to be your enemy. You were in love with her till I came along and you imprinted. Now you're in love with me and Bella's jealous cause now you can be friends again but you're too focused on me. That's why she hates me now!" I snapped my fingers. "And Edward's her little dog so he does whatever she wishes. But Jasper and Alice have nothing to do with it." The whole time I was grinning and proud of myself. "Oh!" I clapped my hands together. "Jasper avoided me that day cause I slept with you!" Everyone's eyes widened except for Jacob's. "Ah! I mean, Wolf you. I slept with wolf you that night and I didn't have time to shower so I smelled like a wolf! And Jasper, being your enemy, avoided me. But I guess in the end he doesn't care." I grinned at all of them.

Everyone stared at me in surprise. "Wow. Smart." Embry grinned back at me. I did a little happy dance in my head. I was actually right.

"He had an epiphany." The young boy said while Quil nodded.

"He's very observant." The older man said, stepping toward me.

I hummed. "I always knew I was missing something. Now I know." I tilted my head at him. "I'm Jade by the way."

He smiled softly at me. "Sam. I'm alpha."

"Oh! That's cool! So it's like a real wolf pack?"

"Yes."

"Awesome." I felt Jacob tug on my hand so I looked at him. "What?"

"Have you figured out what our enemies are?"

I blinked. "Vampires. I read somewhere that vampires and werewolves are like mortal enemies. So Edward, Jasper, and Alice are vampires? Explains a lot."

Jacob nodded. "And you're okay with all this?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Yes. You do. You can choose to have nothing to do with me."

"Jacob." I leaned forward and cupped his cheek with my left hand. "You love me. I can feel it. And I'm not the type to just abandon something like that."

His warm brown eyes widened. "So you'll..."

I held up a finger to his lips. "Under a few conditions." He nodded and I pulled my finger back. "One," I held up one finger. "We have to really get to know each other. Two," I held up another finger. "Outside of the pack we keep this quiet. My mother already has enough to deal with right now besides a possibly gay son. Three," another finger, "Try to keep the affection to a minimum until I say otherwise."

"Deal. Ah but the affection... I'll try to control myself."

"That's all I ask." I smiled at him and lowered my hand.

Jacob grinned at me and in an instant I found myself lifted into the air with two big strong arms wrapped tightly around me. "You have no idea how happy you've made me!"

I giggled and tried to hug him back. "Hehe. I'm glad I can make you happy."

He placed me back down on my feet and pulled back, his hands still on my waist. He was grinning and his eyes were sparkling. The look on his face made my heart flutter. "Thank you. For giving me a chance."

I smiled up at him. "You deserve it." (I had a crush on him anyway.)

"Aw! Such a cute couple!" Embry chuckled.

Jacob stuck his tongue out at him and pulled me closer, causing me to blush. "You're embarrassing him."

Then something started to vibrate in my pocket against Jacob's leg. We both jumped apart. Embry teased a blushing Jacob while I answered my phone.

"Hey mom, what's up?"

"Just checking up on you. Where are you?"

"Uh..." I blinked and looked at Jacob. I put a hand over the speaker while I asked him, "Where am I?"

"Emily's." He nodded to the woman beside Sam. She smiled at me and I waved to her.

I uncovered the speaker. "I'm at Emily's."

"Who's Emily?"

"Ah. She's Sam's... Fiancé." I said when Emily pointed to the ring on her finger. "Sam is a friend of Jacob. Who I already told you about." Jacob grinned at that.

"Oh... Having fun?"

"Yea. You alright?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm just fine."

"Mom... What are you doing?"

"Baking..."

I sighed. "I'll be home soon."

"No! Stay with your friends. I'll be alright."

"Mom. You're my top priority. I'm coming home and that's final."

"Alright sweetie."

"I'll see you soon. Love you."

"Love you. Bye."

"Bye." I closed my phone and re-pocketed it before sighing.

"Everything ok?" Jacob walked over to me.

"My mom's really lonely. My dad left us Monday and she's still trying to cope. I need to get home."

"I'll take you." Jacob said. "We can take my bike. My house is close to here."

"Okay. Thanks." I followed him to the door. "Um, It was nice meeting you Sam and Emily."

"You too." She smiled at me. I couldn't believe I didn't notice the scar on her face before. Ah, there was a lot going on.

"We'll be seeing you more often." Sam said.

I nodded and turned to the one I didn't know. "Sorry I didn't get to introduce myself. I'm Jade."

He smiled at me. "Seth."

I returned his smile. "Later then Seth. Bye." I waved to everyone before following Jacob outside.

He led me to the woods and took my hand to lead me. "I'm sorry... about your dad."

I shrugged. "I'll live. It's my mom I'm worried about."

He nodded. "Ah."

"So, last Saturday... After La Push. You heard my exact feelings?"

"Yea. I wanted to show you that night but you were still unsure. Sam convinced me to bring you tonight. I'm glad I did... Though I was really worried when you fainted."

"Sorry... It was an emotional overload." I stumbled over a log but he helped me. "Thanks."

He smiled at me. "You're an accident waiting to happen."

I couldn't help the giggle that escaped my lips. "I'm a danger to myself."

"Good thing you have me to protect you now."

"Yesh."

We smiled at each other and stepped out of the woods. The house was small but nice. He took me over to the front and let go of my hand.

"Wait here."

"Mk."

I watched him disappear into a garage. The front door of the house opened and I turned to look. An older Indian man rolled out of the house in a wheel chair. His eyes met mine and they were exactly like Jacob's.

"Hello. You must be Jade."

I blinked and nodded. They all know me. It's like I'm famous. I walked up the steps of the porch to the man. "That would be me."

He held out his old tan hand. "I'm Billy Black, Jacob's father."

I smiled at him and placed my hand in his bigger one, shaking it. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to finally meet you. You're all Jacob's been talking about."

I felt my face turn red. "Oh.. Hehe."

"Dad!" Jacob whined. I turned around and he was standing there with a nice red motorcycle. He now had a t-shirt on which I guessed he grabbed in the garage. "Don't tell him stuff like that."

Billy released my hand. "And where are you going?"

"To take Jade home. His mother needs him."

"Oh. Well, I'll see you again soon Jade." Billy patted my shoulder.

"Yea. Bye." I smiled at him before hopping over to Jacob. He grinned at me and handed me a black helmet.

"You'll need this more than me."

I rolled my eyes at him but took it anyway. I put it on and snapped it shut. He got on the bike and I carefully climbed on behind him. I wrapped my arms around his waist tightly and buried my head in his back. He started the thing and we were off.

I was 95% positive that Jacob was not going the speed limit. But it was almost eleven at night so it didn't really seem to matter. About twenty minutes later, Jacob pulled up into my driveway and parked next to my car. I stumbled off the bike and removed my helmet. I shook my head, running a hand through my hair. Jacob grinned at me and cut the engine.

"You should come in. Meet my mom since I met your dad."

"You sure?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yea. For now, we're just friends to her. Besides, she'll enjoy the extra company."

"Alright." He put the kick stand down and got off the bike. He tensed for a moment before glancing behind him.

"What?"

"Vampire."

I blinked and looked across the street. Edward was leaning against Bella's window with Bella beside him. Both were looking at us. I felt the urge to stick my tongue out but resisted. Instead, I grabbed Jacob's hand and lead him inside.

Edward's POV

Bella and I watched Jade and Jacob enter his home. I turned back to Bella. Her eyes were narrowed. I felt the urge to sigh. She was upset about Jade and Jacob's relationship. "Bella, he knows."

She snapped out of it and looked at me confused. "Who knows what?"

"Jade knows about Jacob. And me. He knows everything now."

"And now he's with Jacob?"

"Seems to be a trial. Jade is unsure of his feelings."

"Hmph." She huffed and went back to her bed. She plopped down on it and crossed her arms. "Thought so. He'll break Jacob's heart. He shouldn't give Jacob that kind of hope."

"Bella, He's only met Jacob once. Give him some time. Jacob seems sure that Jade will love him back."

"He was also sure I would love him back." She mumbled.

"This is different."

"Yea, yea. Imprinting. I know." She sighed and laid down on her stomach. I sat beside her and gently ran my fingers over he back. "You'd think Jade would be scared or something... Jacob's a werewolf."

"You're not afraid of him or me."

"I'm weird."

"Well, perhaps he is as well."

She groaned and buried her head in her pillow, so I left the subject alone. But I knew she was reacting oddly. Jealousy, possibly. But I wasn't quite sure.

Jade's POV

My mom absolutely loved Jacob. He was able to make her laugh and we had fun helping her bake. But only an hour later she was ready for bed. She told us good night and went to bed. I wasn't ready for Jacob to leave, So I invited him upstairs and showed him my studio.

"Wow." He gasped, staring at the painting I first did of him. Wolf him. It was framed and hanging on the wall with a few others of wolf him. "I knew you could draw but this is incredible."

I blushed. "Thank you."

"This is my fave." He pointed to a painting I did about a week ago. It was of him in wolf form with me cuddled up against him. It took the longest because I wasn't too good at painting myself.

"It's my favorite too."

Jacob grinned at me. "You're amazing." He walked over to me since I was standing in the doorway. "You want Art to be your career?"

"I'm hoping so." I smiled up at him.

"Your chances are very high."

"Thank you." I turned and headed down the hallway. He followed me and we walked into my room. He looked around before smiling at me.

"I like it."

"Me too." A yawn escaped my lips.

"Tired?" He tilted his head at me. "Want me to go?"

"No!" I said that a little too fast. "I mean... Why don't you stay the night?"

"You sure?"

"Yes. I... Kinda don't want you to leave just yet."

Jacob grinned that grin that made my heart flutter. "Alright. Want me to sleep on the floor? I'm a wolf after all."

I shook my head. "The bed is big enough for both of us."

"Okay." He bent down to remove his shoes. "I warn you though. I run at 108.9°F. It'll get hot."

I blinked. "That a wolf thing?"

He kicked off his shoes. "Yup."

"Then I'll sleep... with the window open." I walked past him and opened up my window.

"Mkay. That should help." I turned back to him. "You mind what I sleep in?"

"As long as you're not naked I don't care."

He smirked. "Aw, damn."

I rolled my eyes at him. "You'll live." I walked to the door. "Now, get in bed. I have to go to the bathroom first."

"'Kay."

I left him and went into my bathroom, closing the door behind me. I almost collapsed right there. I leaned against the sink for support. My nerves were going ballistic. I knew Jacob wouldn't try anything but still... I'd never shared a bed with anyone before.

I quickly calmed down and splashed my face with cold water. I undressed to my boxers and put my dirty clothes in the hamper by the door. I took a deep breath and left the bathroom. When I entered my room, Jacob was laying in my bed, close to the wall. He was on his back, his right arm behind his head and he was staring at the ceiling. He was a little too tall for my bed.

I closed the door behind me and his eyes shifted to me. I was sure I was blushing again. The blanket was to his waist and his bare chest was exposed. His tone, tan, hairless chest. I swallowed hard and walked over to him. He smiled at me and held out his arm to me. I lifted the blanket and started to crawl in but he stopped me by placing his warm hand against my shoulder. I looked up at him, one knee already on the bed. His eyes were on my stomach.

"You never crossed me as the pierced type."

I blinked and looked down at my tummy. "Oh." I poked my pierced belly button. "It was a dare. Never took it out." I shrugged. It was part of my Goth stage... "Plus, I have this." I stuck out my tongue.

Jacob's brown eyes widened considerably and he sat up to get a better look. "Oh damn..."

I pushed the shiny silver bolt in my tongue against my lower lip. "You didn't notice?"

"I never really look at your mouth when you speak."

"Oh. Well, I got this for my 16th birthday."

"That's wonderful." He grinned and laid back down.

I rolled my eyes and crawled in beside him. He pulled the blanket over both of us and I snuggled up to his warm size. He wrapped his arm around me and held me to him tightly. "Goodnight, Jacob." I mumbled to him, tiredly, my eyes closing shut.

"Night Jade." I felt him press his warm lips to my forehead before I fell into blissful sleep.

A burning sensation. Like fire but instead of licking at my skin, the flames were spreading through my veins. It hurt. Badly. I couldn't understand why though. I didn't have time to think though. The pain... I just wanted it to go away.

"Jade!" Jacob's voice called out to me.

I gasped and my eyes snapped open. My vision was blurry but I sat up quickly. The pain was gone but I was panting for air. A dream. It was only a dream.

"Jade." Warm hands were clasping my shivering shoulders. I snapped out of it and turned my head. Concerned brown eyes were staring at me. "You okay? You were groaning in your sleep."

I shook off the weird feeling I had and nodded at Jacob. "I'm fine... Bad dream."

He searched my eyes, concern written all over his face. "You sure?"

"Yea." I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I smiled at him. "I'm fine."

Jacob returned the smile. "Okay."

I yawned and stretched my back. I shivered at the cold coming in from the window and scooted closer to Jacob. He pulled the blanket up to my waist and wrapped a warm arm around my bare back. "What time is it?"

"Hm... About nine I think."

I groaned and flipped over onto my stomach on the bed. "Too early for a Saturday."

Jacob chuckled and moved to lay on his stomach beside me. "Want to sleep some more?"

I shook my head. "I'm already awake."

"Then what do you want to do today?"

"I feel lazy..." I rested my cheek on my pillow, facing him.

"Wanna stay in bed all day?"

"Yesh."

"Fine by me."

"My mom might find that weird though... Us staying in bed all day together."

"Oh." Jacob blinked. "She came in earlier. Said she had to go in to work. Betty called in sick."

"Oh." I smiled softly. "She say what time she'd be home?"

"About dinner time."

"Hm... Food."

Jacob grinned at me. "Hungry?"

"Very." I rolled out of be and got to my bare feet. "I'll make us breakfast."

"Sweet." Damn did he look sexy. Resting on his elbow, his shaggy black hair all messy, and his bare back exposed. "What?"

His voice snapped me out of it. "Uh. Nothing." I walked over to my closet and pulled out a long sleeved black and white stripped shirt. I put it on and turned back to Jacob who already pulled his pants back on.

"Shall we?" I nodded at him and led him out of my room.

I didn't want to separate from Jacob but we had to. It was his turn to run patrol tonight and he couldn't avoid it. Apparently there was some female vampire after Bella or something. Jacob didn't tell me the whole story only that they were keeping an eye out for the vampire.

I had spent all day Saturday with Jacob, just talking. We had so much in common it was insane. He was so easy to get along with. And he was so loving. Very rarely was he not touching me in someway. I was quite flattered actually. No one had ever treated me like I was the most precious thing in the world. To Jacob, I was just that. And I still didn't get it all.

By the time Jacob left it was only three in the afternoon. My mom wasn't due for a few more hours and I was bored. So I grabbed my digital camera from my dresser and left the house. I couldn't draw or pain at the moment because of my wrist but I could take pictures for ideas. Photography was another hobby of mine.

It was chilly outside, so I only wore a hoodie. It was really cloudy but it wasn't supposed to rain till later that night. I wondered into the woods in search of something good to shoot. I took a few pictures of the canopy of tress from below and even got a picture of a bunny inside a log. It was white and fluffy. Really cute. I found a few other animals, like deer and foxes and took a few pictures of them as well.

Before I knew it, I was in the clearing. I immediately took a picture of it. After all, it was the first place Jacob and I met. It held a lot of significance. I sighed and looked up at the sky. For some reason I just loved it here. It was so peaceful and calm.

"Well what do we have here?" I jumped at a voice I didn't recognize. I looked away from the sky and toward the edge of the woods. A tall pale man stood there. His long black hair was tied back in a pony tail and his burgundy eyes gleamed at me. "A lost rabbit?" His voice held a hint of an accent. Scottish perhaps.

"Um... I'm not lost."

He took a step toward me. "Oh? So you live around here?"

"Yes." I turned to face him fully. I didn't like the way he was looking my body over. I felt exposed. "Who are you?"

"Oh my, how rude of me." He smiled, revealing a perfect set of pearly white teeth. "My name is Avery." He bowed his head slightly. "And you are?"

"Jade." I had a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. My mind was screaming at me to run but my feet stayed planted. Running would be bad.

"Jade." He repeated, taking another step toward me. "What a beautiful name. It suits you."

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. "T-Thank you." What am I doing?! Having casual conversation with a vampire?! My blood froze in my veins. Vampire... He's a vampire!

Avery's smile became a smirk. "Ah yes my darling. You see it now." He moved slowly toward me. I tried to bolt but found myself frozen against my will. "But it's too late." He was close enough to reach out and brush his ice cold fingers against the skin of my cheek. "Delectable." He purred, lifting my chin with his finger so our eyes met. He was a few inches taller than me. Pure terror rushed through my body. "I prefer to play with my food though." He brought his face closer and ran his nose up the side of my neck. I couldn't think anymore. I was certain I was going to die.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, Avery released me and jumped back. I was able to move again. I heard deep growling and noticed Jacob standing beside me in his wolf form. The black wolf from before was on my other side and I could hear another behind me.

Avery's eyes glanced at them before they landed on me once again. His thin lips formed a smirk. "Wolves? I love a challenge." And then he was gone. Jacob and the black wolf took off after him.

"Jade! Come on! Now!" I spun around and saw Quil standing beside another wolf. I was to scared to care that he was naked. "Get on Embry." The wolf got down low. "We have to leave. Now." He commanded.

I nodded and ran over to them. Quil helped me on Embry and as soon as I was on his back, Embry took off. I held on as tight as I could. I could hear another wolf running beside us and I guessed it was Quil. We arrived at Emily's house and Seth was waiting outside. He helped me off Embry quickly.

"You're safe now." He told me quietly.

"H-He's going to come after me."

"Not if Sam and Jacob get to him."

"My mom." I turned to Quil and Embry, panic setting in. "My mom! He might go there."

They nodded and took off. Seth grabbed my hand and dragged me inside. Emily was waiting looking as scared as I felt. She took me from Seth.

"Paul and Jared are out there somewhere. You circle the house." She told Seth. Who nodded and was out of the house before I could even notice. Emily sighed and pulled me into a hug. "Oh. I was so worried. Are you alright?" She pulled back and looked me over.

"I... I-I think so."

"You poor thing." Emily sat me down on the couch and she sat beside me. She rubbed my shivering shoulders. "It'll be ok."

"He said... A challenge..." I stared at the floor. "He'll come after me."

"Sam and Jacob will get to him. You're safe here. He has no chance against a pack of wolves."

I nodded, knowing she was right. But I was still terrified. I had faith in Jacob. I knew he'd do anything to protect me. Even if that meant losing his own life and that scared me the most. That couldn't happen. My hand gripped my knees tightly, my body still shaking. Being around Jasper, Alice, and Edward didn't scare me. They were vampires too. But this Avery guy... Why did he terrify me so much? Because I knew he could kill me? So could Jasper if he wanted to... But he didn't want to. Maybe that was the difference. Avery would kill me. He wanted to kill me. And find pleasure in during so... Playing. He said he played with food first. What did that mean?

I wasn't sure how long Emily and I sat there before Jacob and Sam came through the door. I didn't even have time to process that before I was pulled into Jacob's arms. He held me tightly against him.

"What were you thinking? Walking all alone in the woods?" He whispered against my hair. I brought my hands up and fisted them against his bare back. "When we sensed him taking off toward your house I almost lost it... I almost lost you."

"I-I'm sorry..." I mumbled against his warm chest.

"It's not you're fault." He rubbed my back soothingly.

"Did you... get him?" Emily asked softly. I supposed she was talking to Sam.

But Jacob stiffened and pulled back a bit. "No." His eyes narrowed as he glared at the wall behind me. "He headed far east. Got past Montana line when we lost the trail."

"He wanted to keep going but I stopped him." Sam said, referring to Jacob.

"Stupid bastard." Jacob's grip tightened painfully on my hips. "He'll come back."

"And we'll get him then."

"You are not leaving my sight." Jacob looked down into my eyes, completely serious.

"I have to. I have school and plus my mom will find it weird." I could see him shaking and his grip tightened. I squeaked in pain and Jacob ripped his hands away from me.

"Sorry." He mumbled. "I gotta go cool down." He spun around and ran out of the house.

"Jacob..." I stared after him, worried.

"He'll be alright. Let him cool down. We wolves have bad tempers. He's upset because he feels he can't protect you. Though we all know he can." Sam explained to me.

I nodded and Emily walked over to me. She lifted the hem of my shirt to see my hips. "Yea, That's bruising already." She let my shirt fall back down. "I'll get something to put on those." She walked out of the room.

"Sam?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry." He stared at me. "For causing your pack trouble."

Sam just shook his head. "Vampires are causing us trouble. Not you. You're park of this pack now. We protect our own."

I smiled softly at him. "Thank you."

The front door swung open and a shirtless Quil and Embry walked in with Seth close behind them. Embry walked over to Sam while Quil and Seth came over to me.

"Paul and Jared are running perimeter." Embry told Sam.

"Good. I'll join them." Sam left out the front door.

"You ok Jade?" Quil asked, concerned.

"Yea. I'll be alright."

"Where's Jacob?" Embry asked, glancing around.

"He left." Emily said, coming back into the living room. She had two ice packs in her hands. "He lost his temper."

"I got this." Quil nodded to Embry then left as well.

"Did he hurt Jade?" Seth asked, eyeing the ice in Emily's hands.

"A little." She came over to me. "Take off your shirt." She told me. I did as told and removed my hoodie and t-shirt. She pressed one ice pack to my already blue and purple side. I held it there for her along with the other.

Embry hissed. "Ah. That looks bad."

"The ice will help the bruising go down. Along with any swelling." Emily made me sit down. My sides were starting to hurt now.

"Atleast he didn't break anything." Seth sat beside me and held the left ice pack to my side. I smiled at him in thanks.

"True. Jacob has good self control." Emily said with a smile. I started to wonder if Sam was the reason Emily had that scar. Probably.

"So what do you think the plan is?" Seth asked.

Embry plopped down beside me. "Keep an eye on Jade at all time of course. Wait till the blood sucker returns and take him."

I shivered. The ice was making me colder than I already was. Embry scooted closer and wrapped his arm around my bare shoulders. I smiled at him when heat filled my body.

"Careful, Embry. Jacob might rip your arm off." Seth teased.

Embry rolled his eyes. "Please."

"You should listen to Seth." We all looked to the door to see a shirtless Jacob standing there with Quil behind him. Jacob looked calmer but he was glaring at Embry.

"Alright, alright. Don't kill me." Embry removed his arm and got up. "You keep him warm then."

Jacob walked over and sat beside me. Then he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me against his side. I felt loads better already. He nuzzled my hair before looking down at my hips. He winced and pulled the ice pack away. He ran his finger tips over the hand sized bruise. He glanced over at my other hip where Seth was still holding the ice pack to. Jacob sighed and kissed my cheek.

"I'm so sorry."

"You didn't mean to." I leaned into him and nuzzled my nose against his throat.

He knew he was forgiven but the frown didn't leave his mouth. "See how dangerous it is being with me?"

"I'll live."

"Crap." We looked at Seth who was holding the ice pack up and inspecting it. "I melted it."

I smiled at him. "It's ok." I pulled away from Jacob to put my shirt back on. "They are just bruises."

Seth grinned at me before taking the other ice pack from Jacob and going into the kitchen. I cuddled closer to Jacob and looked around. Quill, Embry, Jacob and even Seth, who walked back in, were all shirtless. I raised an eyebrow.

"Is it normal for you guys to walk around half naked?" It was silent for a moment before they all started laughing. The tension in the air was out the window.

"When we phase back to human, we're naked." Jacob explained. "So we carry clothing with us. The less, the better. The cold doesn't affect us."

"Oh. I see."

"Ah!" Embry exclaimed, catching everyone's attention. He pulled something blue from his pocket. "Found this when we went back to the clearing."

"My camera!" I jumped up to get it but hissed in pain and ended up next to Jacob on the couch again. "Shit."

Embry came over to me and handed it to me. "That important?"

I smiled at him in thanks as I took the blue camera from him. "Yes!" I pressed the small silver button to turn it on. I flipped through the pictures on the memory card. "I got a picture of Avery! I think..."

"Avery?" Jacob asked, looking over my shoulder at my camera's screen.

"The vampire."

"You know his name?" Quil asked, surprised.

"Yea. He introduced himself." I glanced up at him. "That bad?"

"Did you tell him your name?"

"Yes. Ah!" I grinned. I hadn't realized at the time, but I did take a picture of him. "Wow." I squinted my eyes at the picture. "He's scary looking..."

"Jade. You saw him in person. He touched you." Jacob said, looking the picture over.

"I know. Oh!" I shifted my eyes to Jacob's brown ones. "He did something weird."

His eyes narrowed. "What did he do?"

"He made me immobile. Like... He could control my body. I would have ran otherwise."

Jacob's eyes widened for a millisecond before he glanced at Embry. "We need to talk to the Cullens. See what we're dealing with."

"Yea."

"I'll do it. I'll go to Bella." Jacob said. "Edward's bound to be with her. Hopefully they'll help."

"I'm sure Jasper and Alice will." I told him. "They're my friends."

"Alright. Let's go then." Jacob stood, carefully lifting me to my feet. "We need to do this A.S.A.P."

My hips were hurting but I ignored them and slipped my camera into my pocket. "Alright. We try Bella first. And Jacob, please put a shirt on."

He blinked before grinning at me. "Does my being half naked bother you?"

"Yes." I blushed and pushed his shoulder. "Now go."

"As you wish." He winked at me.

"You know... For almost being a vampire's dinner... You're taking this pretty well." Jacob told me as I got off the back of his motorcycle.

I smiled at him after removing my helmet. "Believe it or not, I'm used to change." I handed him the helmet. "Life threatening situations love me."

Jacob shook his head at me. "That doesn't surprise me." He got off the motorcycle.

"Jacob?" We both looked to the house and saw Bella standing there looking confused. "What are you doing here?"

Jacob grinned at her and I followed him over to her. "We need to talk to your boyfriend."

On cue, Edward appeared behind Bella. "I know." He said. "Jasper will be of more help to you than I. He knew Avery."

I blinked. Edward already knows everything? How?

"Alright. Take us to him then."

Edward nodded and grabbed Bella's hand. We went back to Jacob's bike and the other two got in Edward's car. I was about to put on my helmet when I noticed my mom was home.

"Jacob..."

He looked at my house before giving me a reassuring smile. "Paul's in the woods by your house. Don't worry. She's safe."

I didn't know Paul but I nodded and got on the back of Jacob's bike. We followed Edward's car to the Cullen's home. I didn't have time to admire the beautiful home when I was pulled into it. We were met with atleast six other vampires. Two of which I already knew. All of them looked at me before they moved their eyes elsewhere.

"So what can you tell me about this guy?" Jacob asked, obviously uncomfortable in a room full of vampires.

"He's strong." Jasper spoke softly. "Very powerful and will stop at nothing till he gets what he wants."

"He was able to control Jade's movements. What is the extent of that?" Edward asked, Bella standing beside him and watching me. How does Edward already know this?

"Once inside someone's mind, he is able to control that person completely. All he needs is their name."

I swallowed hard. I gave him my name... Jacob grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "So what do we do?"

"It's wise to wait until he returns." A young blonde male vampire spoke.

"That's all we do? Keep an eye on Jade for the rest of his life?" Jacob didn't like this at all.

"Alice will keep a look out for him. She's watching him." I was so beyond confused.

"And when he does come back? Hope you don't mind, but I'll rip him to shreds." Jacob practically growled. "He won't stop if I don't."

"That is true." The blonde male spoke again. "We'll help."

"No thanks."

"We're Jade's friends too." Alice piped up. "We care about him too." Wow... really? Ha... I kinda feel better.

Jacob grinded his teeth but I squeezed his hand to calm him. "You can't always be with me. We go to different schools. At school I have Jasper and Alice. I'll be fine there."

"We won't let anyone hurt him." Jasper assured Jacob.

"Fine. I don't really have a choice." Jacob grumbled.

One Month Later

Being watched over like a hawk was annoying. Jacob was like a mother hen and Alice was no better. They never left me alone and it was obvious I was agitated. Alice hadn't seen Avery make any move toward here.

Oh. And I learned that Edward, Alice, and Jasper all had these special powers. Edward could read minds. Alice could see the future and Jasper could effect emotions. It all made sense because whenever Jasper was near me, I wasn't so annoyed.

"Jade? You alive in there?" Angela poked my forehead.

I blinked and forced a smile. "Sorry. Spaced out."

"I'll say." She smiled at me. "So, are you going to ask anyone to Homecoming?"

"Homecoming?"

"Yea. It's in a few weeks."

"It's December already?"

"Yup. So are you?"

I shrugged. "Not really a dancer. I doubt I'll go."

"Oh, you should!" Ben drew Angela's attention away from me and I was thankful.

It was a sunny day and the Cullens were gone. By now, Jacob felt sure enough that I would be safe at school. I was trying to convince him to stop sleeping in the woods outside my house. I was getting there. I tried to lure him into sleeping in my bed with me but he said it would be too tempting and he wouldn't be able to concentrate on his job. By then, Bella was atleast civilized toward me. She would still sit with us when the Cullens were gone. I still had yet to comprehend what her problem was. But I didn't care anymore. I had my own problems to deal with.

Like my mother. Her drinking was getting worse and I was getting worried. There was only so much I could really do. Plus my overprotective wolf wasn't helping the situation.

After school, I was glad to be by myself. My mom was at work, Jacob was still at school, and the Cullens were stuck in the dark. I had an hour to myself before Jacob would come over. I took advantage of that.

My wrist had healed, along with the bruises and I was able to draw again. I took my sketch book and crawled out of my studio window onto the roof of the porch. I stayed by the window, facing the woods. The sky was getting cloudier by the second but I didn't pay it any mind. I was too wrapped up in my drawing which happened to be Avery. For some reason, he fascinated me.

I froze when I heard a thump beside me. At first I thought it was just Jacob but then I found I couldn't move. I was stuck. Fear flooded my system.

"A whole month and they finally leave you alone." A familiar voice spoke beside my ear. My eyes were stuck staring forward but I didn't have to see to know who it was. "But I'm guessing you won't be alone for long. Better make this quick." I felt a sharp pain in the back of my skull and everything went black.

Bella's POV

I was sitting on my bed reading when I left a cold chill go down my spine. Curious, I got up and went to my window. I saw a black figure flash across Jade's yard and my stomach sank. Something wasn't right. So I grabbed my phone and called Edward.

"Edward." I said as soon as he picked up. "Jade's-"

"We know. Alice saw Avery heading toward the state line. We're on it. Jacob's been informed and we're planning. Stay there, ok?"

"What about his mom?" I noticed her pull into the driveway. "What do I tell her?"

"Make something up. Go to her and keep her company."

"Ok."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Ok."

"Love you, Bella."

"Love you." Then the line went dead. I grabbed my coat and ran out of the house. I was going to tell her the only thing I could think of. Jade was staying with Jacob.

Jacob's POV

I could already feel my temper flaring on my way to the Cullen's house. Sam convinced me that running after Avery would be pointless. I didn't know where he was planning to go. But Alice did.

Alice, Jasper, Edward and Dr. Cullen were outside when I arrived. "So what's the plan?"

"Austin. He's taking him to Austin." Alice said.

I nodded. "Austin we go then."

"We're driving. It's safer that way. Avery's smart. He'll sense when we're close."

"We leave now." I told them.

Alive nodded. "We're taking the Mercedes." She pointed at the shiny black car. "We have to hurry. I don't like what I'm seeing."

I was sure I didn't even want to know what she was seeing. Jasper, Alice and I got in the car quickly. Before we could leave though, Embry appeared out of nowhere and got in the back seat with me.

"Sam figured you might need me." He explained.

"Yes. The more, the better." Jasper said before hitting the gas.

Maybe I'm wrong.

You decide.

Should have been strong.

Yea, I lied.

Nobody gets me like you.

Couldn't keep hold of you then.

How could I know what you meant?

There was nothing to compare to...

There's a mountain between us

But there's one thing I'm sure of.

That I know how I feel about you.

Can we bring yesterday back around?

Cause I know how I feel about you now.

I was dumb, I was wrong.

I let you down.

But I know how I feel about you now.

All that it takes

One more chance

Don't let our last kiss be our last.

I'm outta my mind just to show you.

I know everything changes.

I don't care where it takes us.

Cause I know how I feel about you.

Can we bring yesterday back around?

Cause I know how I feel about you now.

I was dumb, I was wrong.

I let you down.

But I know how I feel about you now.

Not a day pass me by where I don't think about you.

And there's no moving on cause I know you're the one.

And I can't be without you.

Can we bring yesterday back around?

Cause I know how I feel about you now.

I was dumb, I was wrong.

I let you down.

But I know how I feel about you now.

Jade's POV

My head felt like it was splitting in two. My body ached and I couldn't remember anything. The back of my eye lids felt like sand paper as I slowly opened them. I was greeted by darkness. I blinked a few times before a light was switched on. It was small but enough to see where I was. I was on a stage in an auditorium of some kind. I was sitting on the floor, my back against what looked like a wall. I was hand cuffed to a hoop in the wooden floor. My right hand was free though.

"Well, well. You're finally awake." I snapped my head up to find Avery kneeling before me. He was smirking. "Sleep well?" I tore my eyes away from his burgundy ones. But that seemed to piss him off. He grabbed my chin roughly and forced me to look at him. I winced in pain. "You look most appetizing when you're scared."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What do you want?"

"You, of course."

"Jacob will come before you can kill me." I glared up at him.

"Oh darling." He leaned forward and pressed his cold cheek against mine to whisper in my ear. "I don't intend to kill you."

Not only did fear rush through me; I was a little confused as well. "W-What?"

Avery pulled back and licked his red lips. "I want your body much more than your blood."

Then it hit me. I tried to shake my head but he still had a grip on my chin. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no."

He smirked, his burgundy eyes flashing. "Yes."

I was stuck. He took control of my body then. If I could, I was sure my body would be shaking uncontrollably as he pressed his ice cold lips to mine. My mind was screaming at me that it was all wrong. It was supposed to be warm. Not freezing. But I couldn't fight him. My body wouldn't move according to my will. But it was more than willing to move to his will.

His icy cold hands against my skin left goosebumps where ever his fingers trailed. I tried to mentally fight against him but it was impossible. I whined in the back of my throat when he started to remove my clothing. I could make noises. Because that's what he wanted. He wanted to hear me.

I wanted to close my eyes and make it all go away. But he wouldn't give me that satisfaction. I had no choice but to stare into his burgundy eyes while his pale hands moved over my pale, now bare, body. He reached over and snapped the metal of the handcuff around my left wrist. The sound reminded me that he could easily snap me if he wanted to.

My hands were free and he made them move. It was like I was suddenly having an out of body experience. My body was moving but I wasn't moving it. My arms wrapped around his neck and he leaned forward, pressing me back onto the floor. The cool floor against my back kept my mind in the present.

My mind was pleading with him not to do this. But Avery only smirked and touched me somewhere no one had ever touched me before. My mind went blank at that moment. I didn't want to remember. Ever. It hurt. Everything hurt. I forced my mind to retreat into itself. I used to do that back when I was forced into therapy. I was an expert at it. But I thought I'd never have to do it again. Not like this.

The main problem was I could still feel and see. Everything that he did to me, I felt. Everything he made me do, I saw. It wasn't supposed to be like that. I started to slowly hate myself for responding to him. Sure, I had no choice, but it didn't make me like myself any more. I now hated my body. It was betraying me. Everything was cold. Bitter. Freezing. It wasn't supposed to be like that. It was supposed to be warm. Loving. But it hurt. A splitting pain all through my body and I knew it was too late. I was dirtied. I was filthy... I was responding.

I wasn't exactly sure when Avery was done with me. I just felt sticky and dirty. I was in more pain than I expected but that was all I felt. Pain and disgust. His mind finally released a bit from mine and I was able to pass out.

When I awoke again, I was fully dressed but in excruciating pain. I felt the cold metal of the handcuff on my left wrist again. I was able to move on my own though, so I tried to sit up. Bad idea. The pain shot through my lower back, causing me to lean forward in pain.

"You're quite a human." I gritted my teeth in pain and refused to look up at him. "Stronger than I thought." Avery kneeled down in front of me. "I've taken one thing I wanted. Now the next. Your little werewolf is almost here." He grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. "Time for some fun." He smirked and I slapped him hard across the face.

Avery's eyes narrowed at my right palm against his cheek. It didn't hurt. I knew that. I wasn't expecting it to. But it was the symbolism behind the slap. He grabbed my wrist tightly and crushed it in his hand. I screamed out in pain and my vision went blurry. Tears streamed down my face as he let go of my hand. I cradled it to my chest.

"You should know better." He titled his head slightly. "They're here." He grabbed my broken wrist causing me to whimper in pain and pulled me to him. He tilted my neck to the side, exposing it completely. "This should be fun." I was too weak to fight it. It would have been pointless anyway. He sunk his teeth into my neck and I yelped in pain. He pulled back and was suddenly tackled by a black figure.

The burning was all I could feel. My neck felt like it was on fire. But it was more than my neck. I could feel my veins on fire. I tried to claw at my neck but one wrist was broken and the other was still handcuffed to the floor. All I could hear was the blood pulsing through my veins and my own screaming. Something cold suddenly pressed against my neck but I was too lost in the pain.

No One's POV (Third Person)

Alice tried to clam Jade down as best she could. Jacob and Embry ripped Avery apart and now Jasper was burning the vampire. Jacob phased back to human and ran over to Alice and Jade. The pale boy was becoming paler and was withering in pain.

"What's wrong with him?" Jacob kneeled down beside him, worried.

"He's been bitten." Alice moved her hand from Jade's bleeding neck to show the wolf.

His eyes widened. "W-What can we do?"

"Suck it out. This happened with Bella once. Edward sucked out the venom. If we don't do it soon, it'll be too late."

"The venom could kill me."

"I don't have the will power to stop." Alice answered.

"He can't die. I have to do it." Jacob moved toward the boy but Jasper came up behind him and moved him out of the way. Alice's eyes grew wide when she realized what he was going to do.

"It will kill you." Jasper told Jacob. The vampire wrapped an arm around Jade's waist and lifted him into a sitting position. The boy was whimpering his eyes closed tightly in pain. He didn't have much time. Jasper attached his lips to the wound on Jade's neck and sucked.

Jacob snapped but Embry held him back. "It's ok!" Alice told him. "Jasper won't hurt him! I know!" Jacob calmed down a bit but the wolf in him just couldn't watch Jasper do that to the one he loved. He had lost his temper long ago as it was. Sam was smart to send Embry with him. Embry was strong enough to keep him under control.

Jasper sucked till the blood ran clean over his lips. He easily pulled back without much effort. Alice smiled softly at him, knowing it was a lot harder for Jasper than it looked. Jade stopped moving and went limp in Jasper's arms. Alice broke the handcuff from Jade's arm and Jasper lifted Jade up.

"His blood is clean. He'll be alright if we get him to the hospital."

Embry carefully released Jacob. The boy was calmer now and walked over to Jasper. He held his arms out for the small pale boy. Jasper obliged and carefully placed the limp boy in the wolf's arms. "Let's go then."

Jade's POV

Fire... That was what it felt like. I was never so sure of my death than the moment Avery's teeth sunk into my flesh. I heard beeping. The fire faded as the beeping got louder. I forced my eyes open but all I saw was white.

"Jade? Sweetie?" I shifted my eyes to my side and saw my mother leaning toward me.

"M-Mom?" I croaked out.

She smiled, her blue eyes glistening with tears. "Hey sweetie. How are you feeling?"

"Where... am I?"

"The hospital."

"What... happened?"

"You fell out of a tree at Jacob's." She patted my right hand that was laying limp by my side. "You broke your wrist and cut your neck pretty badly. Lost a lot of blood."

The whole time she spoke, flashes of what really happened ran through my mind. "W-Where's Jacob?"

"He went to the bathroom. He hasn't left your side." My mother smiled knowingly. "Really cares about you. But we'll talk about that later. You rest up."

I nodded. Or atleast tried to. My neck was wrapped in bandage so it was kind of hard. "Thanks."

She nodded and her phone started to ring. She titled her head at it before answering. Her eyes widened a bit and she mouth to me, "Your father." She held a finger to me and left the room.

I sighed and looked at myself as best as I could. My right wrist was in a cast. Actually my whole forearm was. My palm too. Guessed that was how the cast worked. The hospital bed was positioned so I was sitting up. My lower back still ached and my neck was really sore. I looked up when the door clicked shut.

"Jacob..."

Immediately, he was by my side holding my face between his big warm hands. "Don't ever scare me like that again." He pressed his forehead to mine. "I almost lost you. I'm so sorry."

I placed my unbroken hand over his. "Jacob... Don't apologize. This wasn't your fault."

He shook his head and leaned up, pressing his lips to my forehead. "This never would have happened if we never met."

"Yes it would have. I'm a magnet for stuff like this. But I know you'll always protect me."

"I didn't save you..." I could see the pain in his eyes. "Jasper did."

"No. Jasper kept me human."

"Jade... I can't... Protect you on my own."

"Yes you can. Have faith in yourself. I do." I smiled weakly at him. "And there's no harm in accepting help."

"Jade-"

"I don't wanna hear it."

Jacob sighed and brushed his thumb over my cheek. "Fine."

"I'm alive now. That's all that matters."

"Right." He suddenly pulled back and straightened up.

Then my mother walked in the room, closing her phone. She looked between us but said nothing. She walked over to me with a small smile on her face. "I called your father when I learned this happened. You know me... Always thinking the worst." She sat on the bed beside me, facing me. Jacob stepped back and sat down in the chair beside the bed. "He didn't answer so I left a message. I wasn't sure if he changed his number or not. Anyway," She placed her hand over my cast. "He's coming to see you."

I blinked. "What?"

"He realized how selfish he was being. Neither of us thinks we can save our marriage but you're still his son." She stared at me, worried. "That is, of course, if you still want to be."

"H-He... wants me?" I could feel the tears start to well up.

My mother stared at me surprised. "Of course he does. He never didn't want you."

My throat swelled up and I could feel the tears gather in my eyes. My vision became blurry. My mother gasped and wrapped her arms around me. I clung to her and let the tears fall. For everything. My near death experience to my relief that my father actually wanted me. Before, deep down... I thought he didn't want me or my mom. That was why he left. But I was wrong... And I felt so much better about it.

Jacob's POV

"Jade! Jacob's here!"

"Ah! Crap!" I heard him squeak. "I'll be down in a minute! I'm not ready!" I heard him close his door upstairs and smiled.

Jade's mother smiled up the stairs and turned back to me, standing at the door. "He's just like a girl."

I smiled. "He can be."

Ashley looked me over with a smile. "Well you look quite handsome yourself."

I blinked before grinning. "It's a dance." I shrugged. I was dressed in fitted black slacks and a white button up shirt. A dark green lie hung loosely around my neck. I never was one to dress up to much. Tight clothes made me feel constricted. It was a wolf thing.

"I'm so glad you convinced him to go." Ashley leaned against the railing of the stairs. "He needs to get out of the house more. Since his little accident he never leaves." She sighed.

I nodded. "I think he's just embarrassed about how much of a klutz he is. His friends at school haven't seen him since it happened and I'm sure he's just nervous."

"I am not nervous." Jade grumbled as he came down the stairs.

Ashley and I turned to him. She was grinning and I was just taken away. It was different for me to see him in something so... form fitting. He wore tight black slacks that fit him perfectly and a black tight button up long sleeved shirt. A bright red tie was around his neck loosely and I had to look away from the thoughts running through my head.

"Ah this sucks!" He fumbled with his right sleeve as he stepped off the stairs.

I smiled at him and walked up to him. I took the sleeve from him and gently pulled it over his cast. Well, I atleast tried to. "It's not going to fit."

"Gah..." Jade grumbled and pushed his sleeve up to his elbow. "Stupid sleeve..."

I couldn't help but laugh at him. "Come on. It's not that bad."

Jade's green eyes glared into mine. "I can't believe you're making me do this."

"I'm not making you do anything."

"Yea well... You know I can't say no to you!"

I patted the top of his head. "You'll live."

"Ah! No!" He swatted my hand away. "You'll mess up my hair! I just got it how I liked it."

I chuckled at him. "Yup, just like a girl."

"Hey!" His face turned red.

"Alright you two." Ashley rolled her eyes at us. "Get going or you'll be late."

"Right." I held my hand out for Jade's hand. He eyed it like it was something he'd never seen before. He crinkled his nose and placed his hand in mine. I knew he couldn't stay mad at me.

"Now you take good care of my little boy, ok?" Ashley said, following us to the door.

"Of course."

"Have fun!" She grinned at both of us before closing the front door behind us.

I chuckled and pulled Jade to his car. "You'll have fun. I promise."

He crossed his broken arm over his chest since I had a good hold of his other hand. "I don't dance."

"Oh, but you will." I laughed while Jade continued to mumble as we got into his car.

Jade's POV

I hated Dances. And Homecoming was a big dance. I don't dress up. I don't dance. But my mom got to Jacob and convinced him to get me to go. It was hard to say no to him when he was begging me with those big brown eyes. Gah... I hated him... No you don't. You lov- I cut off my own thoughts. I stared out the window as the lush green forest went by. Because of my arm I couldn't drive. So Jacob had been driving for me. He was driving to the dance as well. I had to admit to myself that he looked really good all dressed up. We both weren't all that into dressing up but he looked really good. Really, really good...

Since the incident in Austin, Jacob had yet to really leave my side. Of course, that was only about a week ago, so I couldn't blame him. Surprisingly the wound on my neck healed pretty well but left a crescent moon shaped scar. It was cool to the touch and Jacob always seemed to avoid it. I couldn't blame him really.

It was too soon to tell but I was starting to think things were falling back to normal. My mom stopped drinking since her and my father had a long talk about everything. It was weird to see him. To know he still wanted to be apart of my life.

I had underestimated my mother. From the moment she met Jacob she knew the boy was in love with me. I kinda felt stupid for trying to hide it from her. We hadn't really came right out and told her about us but she more or less already knew.

"Jade? Jade." I snapped out of it and looked at Jacob. "We're here."

I blinked and looked around. We were parked in the school's parking lot and I forgot how quick the ride to school was. "Oh..." I unbuckled my seat belt and got out of the car with Jacob. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

Jacob came up beside me and grinned at me. "Ah, but you are."

I half-glared up at his grinning face. "People already think I'm weird. Now I'm going to homecoming with a guy..."

Jacob titled his head slightly. "Does it really matter what they think?"

"No. Not at all." I sighed and held my left hand out to him. "Shall we?"

"Ah of course." He took my small pale hand in his big warm tan one. He grinned at me and led me to the gym.

I could hear music spilling out of the open double doors. A few students were standing around outside. I was glad to see that I wasn't too dressed up. Most guys were dressed like Jacob and I. The girls were in nice simple dresses. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. We entered the nicely decorated gymnasium and I was surprised at the amount of people. Forks sure did have a lot of kids. I hadn't realized that before.

"Jade!" Jacob and I turned and saw Alice dancing toward us with Jasper not far behind her. "You came!" She smiled at me.

"Yea." I returned her smile.

"That's great!" She tugged on Jasper's hand. "Let's dance." Jasper nodded, glancing at me with a soft smile before following after the beautiful vampire.

I sighed, relaxing a bit. "I wonder if-"

"Jade!" Before I could stop it, I was suddenly attacked by a brunette girl in blue. "You're here!"

I blinked and hugged Angela back. "Uh, yea."

She pulled back grinning. "I thought you didn't do dances." She tapped my nose with her finger.

I smiled at her. "I don't." I shrugged. "But you try saying no to him." I jabbed my thumb at Jacob.

Angela blinked at him before a grin spread over her face. "Hi! You're Jacob, Right?"

"That's me."

"I'm glad you got him to come. Jade needs to hang out with us more." She poked my shoulder. "Where have you been this past week anyway? We've been worried."

"We?"

"What, you thought we didn't care about you?" Mike popped up behind Angela, smiling at me. I then noticed Ben on the other side of Angela.

I felt a sudden lift in my spirit. "Sorry, I had a little accident." I held up my cast.

"Oh my!" Angela gently grabbed it. "What did you do?"

"Fell. Hard. Smashed my wrist and lost a lot of blood. I'm ok though."

"Well call us next time." Mike patted my shoulder. "So we're not so damn worried. We thought you moved or something. Bella wouldn't say a thing about you and of course we couldn't ask Jasper."

I chuckled softly. "Sorry."

"You'll be at school Monday though right?"

"Yes."

Mike grinned. "Good. See you then." He nudged my arm then disappeared into the crowd.

"Save me a dance, k?" Angela smiled at me then disappeared with Ben.

"I told you, you had good friends that were human." Jacob wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer.

"I guess I do." I smiled softly and patted his chest with my unhurt hand. "Wanna dance?"

He blinked at me. "You don't dance."

I shrugged. "Well I feel like it. Plus I like this song." I pulled away from him and grabbed his hand. "Come on." I tugged on it gently.

He rolled his eyes. "Alright..."

"Yay!"

Dancing was not my forte. But that didn't mean I didn't have fun. I had a blast actually. Jacob was fun to dance with. He was a worst dancer than me! With his long limbs and lack of rhythm. It was funny. I did dance a slow song with Angela and I could practically feel Ben fuming as he watched us. It was obvious to Angela that I was with Jacob. I think she knew all along I was like that. I believed that Angela and I would become even closer friends after that.

Jacob and I were sitting outside the gym, getting some fresh air, when Bella approached us. I was just as surprised as Jacob that she was even there. I stood from the curb when I saw her approach us. She looked pretty in her dark green dress. Edward, of course, was right beside her. Jacob stood as well and kept as close to me as possible without actually touching me.

"Hi Jade. Jacob." She spoke softly.

"Hi."

"Jade... I wanted to apologize for how I've been acting." She offered a soft smile. "I was being stupid."

I shrugged at her. "I've been through worse. No big deal."

"I'm happy for you. Both of you." She glanced at Jacob who forced a smile for her.

"Thanks." Bella nodded and walked away with Edward not far behind. I waited till they were back inside to sigh. "Stupid is right."

Jacob chuckled at me. "You know whatever you were/are thinking Edward is going to tell her."

"Good. She needs to know that I don't like her anymore." I nodded my head, crossing my arms over my chest. "I don't like him either."

"And why is that?" Jacob wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to him.

"Too damn perfect. Both of them. Pisses me off."

Jacob laughed at me and leaned down, nuzzling his warm nose against my cold one. "They've had their share of problems."

"That's not what I mean. Edward's a dog."

Jacob raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh?"

"He does whatever Bella wants. What kind of man is that? A gentleman? Hell no. Even a gentleman has his limits."

Jacob shook his head and pulled me closer to him. "Honestly, I've never liked him either."

"He's not real." I nodded my head, content in my rant. "Is that his appeal? He's too perfect to be real? What the hell is that? No one like him exists!"

"But he does."

I stuck my tongue out at Jacob. "Shut up and let me rant."

He chuckled and leaned down, nuzzling his nose into my neck. "Alright."

"Good. I mean, he's like her little pet. He does whatever she wants and has no back bone. That is not a man. You, my dear Jacob, are a man."

Jacob raised his head and was obviously amused. "Am I?"

"Yes." I nodded. "You're not my pet."

"But I am your wolf."

"Ah! Yes, but that's different. You don't follow me..." I blinked. "Actually you DO follow me around like a little puppy..." It was obvious he was trying not to laugh. "It's still different though! You convinced me to come to this stupid dance. If it was Edward and Bella, She would say no and he'd drop it. But not my Jacob." I nodded. "You don't give up and try to get what you want from me."

Jacob grinned and kissed my cheek. "I know when I can push you and when I can't."

"Cause you're smart and real. Sure, you're not completely human either, but you're more down to earth and... Just..." I paused trying to think of the right thing to say.

"Just?" Jacob was obviously enjoying this.

I shrugged. "You're real. Sure, I doubt there's another guy out there like you and that's a good thing. You're unique in a good way. And I love that about you."

Jacob pulled me closer to him, his arms wrapped around my body tightly. His warmth was making me feel less chilly and was starting to get me to calm down. He lowered his head placing his forehead against mine. "Your Jacob, hm?"

I blinked, a soft blush coming to my cheeks. "Y-Yes."

"I like the sound of that."

I smiled up at him. "Me too."

"You wanna get home?"

I nodded. "My arm is starting to hurt from all the movement."

Jacob pulled back and gently grabbed my cast, looking it over. "Mm. Alright. Let's go home then."

Having Jacob stay with me at night was simple. Usually, he would be over anyway but when it became too late, he'd leave to go home. Though he actually wouldn't go home. He'd wait in the woods till my mom went to bed then sneak into the window of my bedroom from the roof of the porch.

Tonight was no different. After we got home from the dance, I told my mom I dropped Jacob off at home and that I was tired and going to bed. It was pretty late anyway, so she went to bed as well. I was in the middle of unbuttoning my shirt when Jacob came through my window.

Jacob smiled at me and plopped down on my bed. I smiled back at him as I started to get ready for bed. By the time I turned back around to my bed, Jacob was undressed and under the covers. I blinked but smiled at him and made my way to the bed as well. He grinned at me as I slipped under the covers beside him.

It had gotten colder outside, cold enough to snow. So I cuddled up to Jacob's side which he didn't object to. He wrapped his arm around me and held me close to him. My cast rested on his bare chest and I wrapped a leg around his so we were as close as possible without being on top of one another. Jacob moved so his hand wrapped around my cast gently, his warmth sinking through the hard fabric and soothing the slight pain in my wrist.

"My dad asked me to come spend part of winter break with him." I mumbled against Jacob's shoulder as I stared at my off white wall.

Jacob tensed a bit beside me. "Oh? For how long?"

"Just a few days... I told him I had to spend Christmas with my mom or else she'd go into a severe depression. He understood. So, I think I'm spending New Years with him."

"Is that... What you want?" Jacob was obviously careful with his words.

I just shrugged. "I love New York. Lived there once before, you know? But... I don't know... I know my mom won't be alone since she already made plans with a few girls from work. But what the hell am I gonna do on New Years with my dad? We never did anything before. Usually I spent it with my mom watching movies and stuff. She likes to pretend she has a daughter sometimes..." I rolled my eyes at the memories.

Jacob's chest rumbled a bit at his soft laughter. "So I've seen."

I smiled softly. "Yea." I moved a little closer to him. "I think time alone with my father would be a good thing actually... We never... really talked before."

I felt Jacob nod his head above mine. "I agree." He nuzzled his nose into my hair and I heard him sniff. He sighed contently and I guessed he liked what he smelled.

I was always content and comfortable in Jacob's arms. Ever since I met him, I was comfortable around him. And even now. There was just something about him that drew me to him. And vise versa. There was still so much we didn't know about each other but I was sure, with time that would change. I had no intention of leaving Jacob and I knew he wasn't going anywhere either.

It was so odd to feel this strongly about someone I had only met about two months ago. But it seemed like two months was plenty of time to develop feelings for someone. But my feelings were deep. I knew Jacob had deep feelings for me too. Sam told me that as soon as a wolf imprints, they are in love. So Jacob loved me? It was really hard to wrap my head around.

I wasn't like Jacob. I didn't have the whole imprinting thing where I'd fall in love with someone instantly. But at the same time, I felt like I did. I felt so attached to Jacob. Like if he suddenly disappeared, my whole world would fall apart. It wasn't normal to have deep feelings for someone after only knowing them for such a short period. Then again... I never was really normal...

But something had been bugging me lately. And I was sure it would continue to bug me until I admitted everything to Jacob. We had just started to get more intimate with each other... and that still wasn't much. It had still only been a week since the incident with Avery and Jacob was being very careful with me. But I could tell he wanted so much more than he was getting. I knew he wasn't expecting me to throw myself at him but I knew he was atleast expecting something. But, considering the kind of guy Jacob was, he wasn't going to push me to do something I wasn't ready to do.

That wasn't what was bothering me. What was bothering me was what had happened with Avery. I still felt dirty about it. I still couldn't get that constant cold feeling off of my skin. Reality was starting to become hard to swallow. I had been through things I never expected in my life. Sure, I was used to change. Change and I were good buddies. But what Avery did to me... was one thing I just couldn't cope with on my own.

"J-Jacob?"

He paused in rubbing my back gently with his warm hand. "Hm?"

"I... There's something... I kinda need to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I... I'm a tiny bit glad Avery took me."

Jacob's body froze beside mine. "W-What?"

"Well... See.... Sure, I was almost killed... And yea, I can't paint or draw for a few more months... but something good came out of it."

"And what the hell was that?" His voice had a slight growl to it. I couldn't blame him for being a little angry.

"I learned how much I needed you." I shifted so I was propped up on my elbow and could finally see his face. He was staring at me with a look that I couldn't read. "The whole time I was there, I kept thinking of you... How horrible it would be to never see you again. Things like that." I bit my bottom lip. "But most of all..." I swallowed hard and shifted my eyes away from his. "That I want you the way you want me."

"Jade..." His hand cupped my cheek and forced me to meet his big brown eyes. He was smiling softly while his other hand rubbed my back gently. "That is a good thing I guess." He narrowed his eyes slightly. "But it doesn't out weight the bad."

I nodded once, my mind starting to spin. I had to tell him. He had to know. He had the right to know. "Avery... He..." I chewed on my bottom lip and Jacob titled his head slightly at me. I lowered myself back down so my head was resting on his shoulder. I just couldn't look him in the eyes. Jacob continued to rub my back soothingly while his other hand trailed over my cast. "He raped me, Jacob." I blurted out, my eyes closing tightly.

Jacob's entire body froze beside mine. "And... I tried to block it out." I continued. "To imagine... that it wasn't happening. That he wasn't doing this to me." I squeezed my eyes tightly feeling the tears start to come. "But I couldn't block it out completely... He made my body respond and I hated it!" Jacob's body was starting to shake but it was too late to stop. "And it hurt... It hurt so bad..." I could hear my voice tremble as I held back a sob. The hot wet tears didn't want to stop. They slipped through my eyes lids and fell down my cheeks, landing on Jacob's bare chest. "The w-whole time... I k-kept thinking... 'This is wrong. This is so wrong. It's not supposed to be like this... It can't happen this way...' And it was all wrong... You, Jacob... I-It was s-supposed to b-be you... No one else. Never anyone else... But it was taken from me..."

Jacob was silent as I tried to calm myself down. I felt his body shaking beside mine and I was starting to regret telling him. Atleast telling him here and now. Not after such a wonderful night... But I had to. I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eyes. I was too afraid of what I might see. Would I be disgusting to him now? Would he hate me?

His arm around my back tightened but i just stared at the wall with blurred vision. Then, suddenly, something cracked loudly and I yelped in pain. Jacob jumped in surprised and released his hold on me. I whimpered in pain and sat up, cradling my right wrist to my chest. I pulled away the crushed cast to reveal a black and blue wrist. I closed my eyes tightly to stop the tears of pain from falling. I had already cried enough.

Two strong arms wrapped around me from behind. Jacob pulled me back into his bare chest, between his legs. He carefully took my broken wrist into his hand and rubbed it gently. His warmth made it feel a little better. Still hurt like a bitch though... He rested his chin on my shoulder, the side without the bite mark, his warm cheek pressed against mine.

"I'm sorry." He whispered into my ear while using the inner wrapping of the cast to rewrap my wrist. "I'll take you to Carlisle tomorrow to get a new cast." His voice was soft but his movements were jerky. I missed a bullet there. He was still angry. "Does it hurt?"

I shook my head. "Nothing I can't handle." Actually, it hurt worse than before. I think he broken it again... or broke something else...

"I'm so sorry..." He released my hand and wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me tightly. "I need to control my temper."

"It's alright..." I rubbed my good hand over his warm tan arm. "I should have expected something like that." I let my broken wrist rest in my lap gently.

Jacob flinched at my words and I supposed that maybe I said something wrong. Expecting him to hurt me because he became angry wasn't a good thing I guessed. We stayed silent for a few minutes though. Him: trying to calm down. Me: focusing on ignoring the throbbing pain. He squeezed me to him and nuzzled his nose against my neck causing me to shiver.

"I... I'm glad you told me." He finally spoke. "If he wasn't already dead I'd mutilate him." He growled softly while I just nodded, staring down at his arms around me. "I can't believe he did that to you... I can't believe no one even noticed..."

"I convinced myself it didn't happen at first. It was easier to move on that way... But it was... too much to keep inside. You deserved to know anyway... That I wasn't... pure."

"You are pure." Jacob kissed my cheek gently, his lips lingering against my pale flesh. "What he did doesn't count. Just keep forgetting about it."

I nodded and swallowed the lump in my throat. Jacob was wrong though. I wasn't pure... but I wasn't going to argue with him. He took it better than I expected. Of course, I was expecting the worse. Though now, I felt stupid. Jacob was never going to get angry at me for what happened. He wasn't like that. I suddenly felt undeserving. But no way in hell was I going to let him get away.

Carefully, I pulled out of his arms and turned to face him. I moved forward and straddled his lap. He stared at me confused as I wrapped both arms around his neck, wincing at the slight pain in my right wrist.

"Jade?" Jacob tilted his head up at me, his warm brown eyes searching mine as I leaned my head closer to his. Atleast in his lap we met eye to eye.

I took a deep breath before pressing my lips to his. He was still only a second before responding. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed his lips back to mine. I felt it then. That fire from my dream but this time, it wasn't painful. It was pleasurable. A burning sensation streaming through my veins and making my body burn. I whimpered very softly and slid my eyes shut, pressing my body to his.

I buried my hand in Jacob's shaggy black hair and pulled him closer. His lips pressed gently against mine as he slipped his hands to my hips and let them rest there. Our lips moved together gently, just feeling the other. A sweet gentle kiss. Our first kiss. I kinda felt giddy.

After a few moments, we pulled our lips apart for air. I rested my forehead against his and smiled at him. He returned the smile, blissfully, and brought up one hand to cup my cheek.

"You're so cute when you blush."

I blinked, leaning back a bit before sticking my tongue out at him. His eyes landed on the silver bolt through my tongue and before I could stop him, he leaned forward and licked it. I squeaked and pulled my tongue back into my mouth.

Jacob just smirked at me, his earlier anger vanished. "I've always wanted to do that." He said while sliding his hand back to my hip.

I knew my face had to be even redder. "I'd like to do it again."

He cocked an eyebrow, his smirk not leaving his lips. "I'm not stopping you."

I grinned and leaned forward, our lips connecting again. It just felt right. Like that was how it was supposed to be. Jacob and I... He imprinted on me for a reason and I was starting to realize why. We were meant to be. I could feel it in my soul.

I let out a soft moan when his warm tongue moved along the seam of my lips. I parted them and he wasted no time in sliding his tongue inside. I tightened my grip on his hair as his tongue moved against mine. I had never felt such a thing. I had never done such a thing. Jacob was teaching me so much that I had never done before. I was sure he still had a lot more to teach me. I followed his tongue back into his mouth and he let out a soft moan as I played with his tongue. I felt a surge of pride that I could make him moan like that.

We broke for air, panting a bit. Our eyes locked and he smiled at me. "I... Don't think you realize exactly what you do to me..." He spoke softly.

I shifted in his lap and realized exactly what he was talking about. I felt my face burn and pressed my hand to his chest. His skin was hotter than normal. I moved my hand over his heart and felt it beating fast, in sync with mine. "Jacob..." I smiled softly while staring at my hand over his heart.

"It's yours, you know." I blinked and raised my eyes to his. "My heart." The sincerity in his voice almost made tears come to my eyes. Jacob smiled softly at me and pecked my lips softly. "It'll always be yours." He nuzzled my nose with his. "I love you, Jade."

My heart clenched tightly at his words and tears sprung to my eyes. I had a feeling he did love me but to actually hear it... It was different than I thought. "I think..." I took a deep breath. "I love you too..." As soon as I said it, I knew it was true. Strange how things worked like that.

Jacob smiled and raised a hand to brush away a few stray tears. "You're absolutely beautiful."

I blinked at him. "Ah... Jacob! That's embarrassing!" I buried my head in his neck.

He chuckled at me and wrapped his arms around my back. "But it's true." He teased.

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?" I mumbled against his neck. "You're a beautiful and elegant creature." I pulled back when he didn't respond. He stared at me in surprise.

"You think so?"

"Yes..." I felt the urge to giggle.

A light shade of pink tinted his tan cheeks as he scratched his head, obviously embarrassed. "Oh... Um... No one's... ever said that about me..."

"Then we're even."

Jacob grinned at me and let his hand drop to my waist. "Ha! I've got nothing on you. You're my fire." He ran his hands up and down my sides.

Before I could ask what he meant by that a giggle slipped through my lips. Jacob froze before moving his hand over my side again. Another giggle. A smirk made its way to his lips slowly and I stared at him with wide eyes. "Jacob, no."

He pouted cutely at me. "Aww... Ruin my fun."

"My mom could hear us." I poked his lower lip but he just licked my finger. "Ah! Ew~ Jacob!"

He just laughed and suddenly I was on my back, pressed into the pillow with him above me. "I thought you enjoyed my tongue." He smirked, mischievously.

"I-I do..."

"Good." He leaned down and our lips met once again.

Jacob Black was my lover, friend and just plain everything to me. He was a werewolf (atleast I think that was the proper title for him...) and I loved him all the same. He was an incredible creature and by some twist of fate... He was all mine. And I was never letting go. Nu-uh. Never. A human and a wolf. Could it really work? Well, we'd just have to wait and see. No harm in ever trying, right? Course not.

There are things in this world that I don't understand.

Like, love, war, gravity, or the lay of the land.

But all of these remain mysteries.

One thing is for sure...

You are worth living for.

Sometimes when I'm far away from you.

I get a little lost; a little out of my element.

I miss the way your body burns when we melt alone.

There are things in this world that I don't understand.

Like, love, war, gravity, or the lay of the land.

But all of these remain mysteries.

One thing is for sure...

You are worth living for.

Sometimes when I let my mind run free.

It never fails that it goes right to you and a smile takes a hold of me.

I miss the way your body burns when we melt.

There are things in this world that I don't understand.

Like, love, war, gravity, or the lay of the land.

But all of these remain mysteries.

One thing is for sure...

You are worth living for.

Song Credits (In order):

"Gotta be somebody" by Nickleback

"We are broken" by Paramore

"About you now" by Miranda Cosgrove

"One thing is for sure" by The Spill Canvas

Well That's that. It's finished. What did you think? I beg of you to review!!! I'll get all depressed if you don't. I worked soooooo hard on this story. It took me a month to write it and two weeks to edit it. I'm sure tehre are a few mistakes but please let me knwo what you though. And no flames. I shall harm thee if thou shalt flame.

Oh, and btw...

This is part one in a trilogy.

-Smiles-

I have part two already written adn finished with. Believe youme, it's amazing and you're going to want to read it! Part three, i have just started on. SO you guys better review this really well if you want to get to read part two. WHICH HAS 1 1/2 LEMONS!!!!! -cough- So...

REIVEW!!!!!

Thanks to everyone who read the whole thing. I know it was long. I did my best.

+Matt+